Christian Atsu ‘successfully rescued’ from Turkey earthquake rubble
The Ghana Football Association confirmed the update after the former Premier League footballer had been trapped under a collapsed building
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former Premier League footballer Christian Atsu has been “successfully rescued” from under the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in southern Turkey and is now recovering in hospital.
The Ghana Football Association confirmed the news and said the 31-year-old is receiving treatment. His former team Everton then tweeted: “We are relieved to hear Christian Atsu has been found and is recovering in hospital.”
Atsu, who also played for Chelsea and Newcastle, was reported missing on Monday after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria.
The former Ghana international, now playing with Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor, was said to be missing after team-mates and members of the club’s technical staff had reportedly been pulled from rubble.
But the Ghana Football Association tweeted a significant update on Tuesday, which said: “We’ve received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment.
“Let’s continue to pray for Christian.”
The vice president of Hatayspor, Mustafa Ozak, told media on Tuesday that Atsu had been pulled out from the rubble injured but that the club’s sporting director, Taner Savut, was still under the rubble.
Ozat told BeIN Sports on Monday several players and officials had been rescued from the rubble.
Turkey’s Hatay province was hit by the 7.8 magnitude quake that brought down thousands of buildings, killing some 5,000 people, in several Turkish and Syrian cities on Monday.
Atsu joined Hatayspor in September. He was last selected to play for Ghana in 2019, but has not officially retired from international football.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments