Christian Atsu has been found alive after reports that he was ‘trapped’ after an earthquake in Turkey.
The 31-year-old, who previously played for Chelsea and Newcastle in the Premier League, was trapped in Monday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
According to the Portuguese news outlet A Bola, Atsu has been rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital after suffering injuries to his right foot and breathing difficulties.
Saddick Adams, a journalist, claimed he spoke with Atsu’s management team and was told the winger was safe. Adams had earlier tweeted that Atsu “was on the 9th floor of the collapsed building with 9 other players and 2 officials. 3 players and one official have been rescued. Officials of the club are at the site as search continues.”
Hatayspor, Atsu’s current club, is based in the Turkish city of Hatay, which is thought to be one of the worst affected areas by the incident. In addition to Atsu, the club’s sporting director Taner Savut and an interpreter were reported to be trapped as a result of the earthquake.
Following the incident, other footballers, including Onur Ergun and Burak Oksuz, were rescued. Two other team-mates of Atsu, Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis, are also safe, while Kerim Alici managed to free himself from the rubble.
Atsu, who joined Chelsea as a youngster back in 2013 after leaving Porto, also had spells with a number of other top-flight clubs including Everton and Bournemouth before moving to St James’ Park.
He 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.
It has been reported that at least 2,800 people have lost their lives following the incident with over 12,000 more believed to be injured across Turkey and Syria. A massive aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the south of Turkey just hours after the original quake. Reports say it was felt once again in Syria and also Iraqi Kurdistan.
Other sports stars have also been affected by the earthquake, with Olympic champion wrestler Taha Akgul issuing a desperate plea for “urgent help” on his social media account.
