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HATAY. — Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu has been pulled from the rubble of a building in Hatay with injuries, his manager Mustafa Özat has told Turkish radio.
Ex-Chelsea player Atsu has been found alive in the rubble of the Türkiye earthquake after his voice was heard, it was reported.
The 31-year-old Ghana ace is believed to have been on the ninth floor of an apartment block when two earthquakes rocked Türkiye early on Monday.
The Hatayspor player was trapped after the earthquakes that killed at least 2 000 people in Türkiye and Syria on Monday.
Hatay was one of the cities closest to the epicentre of the quake, and has suffered extensive damage. The club’s sporting director Taner Savut remains in the collapsed building,
“Christian Atsu was removed from the wreckage with injuries,” Özat told Turkish radio channel Radyo Gol.
“Unfortunately, our sporting director Taner Savut is still under the rubble.
Özat added: “Hatay was deeply affected. We are coming towards the end of the most dangerous hours.”
Atsu, who has three kids with wife Marie-Claire, plays for Hatayspor, who he joined last summer.
The earthquake hit hard in Kahramanmaras, where Hatayspor are based.
Video showed rescuers with search lights sifting through the wreckage of his apartment block during the night.
According to local media reports, Atsu’s voice was heard in the rubble, along with that of Hatayspor’s sporting director Taner Savut.
Ghana’s ambassador to Türkiye, Francisca Ashitey-Odunton, said she received information from the country’s football authorities that Atsu “has been found”.
Several of his teammates were dramatically rescued from their homes after the earthquake struck at 4am local time on Monday.
Just hours before the quake struck Atsu scored deep into stoppage time on Saturday to secure a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa.
“Important win for the team. Happy to be on the scoresheet,” he tweeted.
Footage showed Atsu being mobbed by his teammates as ecstatic fans celebrated the win, along with messages praying for him to be found.
Newcastle and Chelsea were earlier anxiously awaiting news of their former player.
A post on Newcastle’s official Twitter account said: “Praying for some positive news, @ChristianAtsu20.”
While Chelsea tweeted: “We’re praying for you, Christian Atsu.”
Atsu joined Chelsea from Porto for £3,5 million in 2013 but didn’t make a single appearance for the Premier League giants.
Atsu took in loans at Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth, Malaga and Newcastle.
And the Magpies made his deal permanent in 2017 after Atsu played a key role in their promotion from the Championship.
The ace ended up making 86 appearances for Newcastle before joining Al-Raed in 2021. Atsu moved to Hatayspor last summer and has one goal in four games for the Turks. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter