Christian Atsu remains missing after Turkey earthquake: Hatayspor director

Atsu, 31, was reported to have been rescued from the rubble with injuries and transported to hospital following Monday’s huge quakes.

Atsu had joined Hatayspor in September last year, after nearly a decade at English clubs Chelsea and Newcastle United. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ghanaian football player Christian Atsu remains missing after two devastating earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, Hatayspor director Volkan Demirel told Reuters on Wednesday.

Atsu, 31, was reported to have been rescued from the rubble with injuries and transported to hospital following Monday’s huge quakes.

“There is no information on his whereabouts yet, we don’t know where he is,” Demirel said. “It’s not the case that he was pulled out or taken anywhere else.”

The search for Atsu is ongoing, Demirel added.

Ghana national team player Atsu joined Hatayspor in September last year, after nearly a decade at English clubs Chelsea and Newcastle United.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked large parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.

The quake was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, and was felt as far away as Cairo in Egypt. Hours later, a second 7.5 magnitude jolt, which was possibly an aftershock, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake and caused more destruction.

Turkish authorities said more than 3,700 buildings were destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise.