Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu still remains trapped under rubble despite false reports to the contrary after he was caught up in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake which occurred in Turkiye on Monday, 6th February, 2023.
False reports stated that Atsu had been rescued and taken to the hospital with breathing problems and a right foot injury.
However, Atsu’s teammate Kerim Alici, denied that the winger had been located in a post on his Instagram account.
Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu then tweeted that Hatayspor manager Mustafa Özat had confirmed that Atsu and the club’s sporting director Taner Savut were still under the rubble.
Hatayspor, Atsu’s current club, is located in the Turkish city of the Hatay, which is believed to be one of the areas worst affected by the incident.
Following the incident, other footballers, including Onur Ergun and Burak Oksuz, were rescued. Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis, Atsu’s other teammates, are unharmed, and Kerim Alici was able to escape the debris.
Atsu joined Hatayspor in the summer and scored his first goal for the club on Sunday night – just hours before the disaster which has devastated Turkey.
According to reports, the incident has resulted in at least 2,800 fatalities and more than 12,000 injuries across Turkey and Syria. Just hours after the initial earthquake, a large aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 struck the southern part of Turkey. According to reports, it was once more felt in both Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria.
Photo credit: Reuters