The Ghanaian football player Christian Atsu has been pulled out alive from the Turkiye earthquake rubble after 26hours of being trapped.
Hatayspor manager earlier this morning denied false reports that Christian Atsu had been pulled out alive last night he was caught up in a 7.7 magnitude earthquake which occurred in Turkiye.
But one of the Turkish journalists,Yagiz Sabuncuoglu who first broke the news that Christian Atsu had been trapped this morning confirmed on Twitter he has been found alive.
Christian Atsu enkazdan canlı olarak çıkarıldı!
“Christian Atsu has been pulled from the wreckage alive!”
Search and rescue teams continue their bid to save many following a devastating earthquake in Türkiye.
Over 4300 people are reported dead from the disaster which occurred in Türkiye and Syria.
The 31-year-old, who played for both Chelsea and Newcastle during his time in the Premier League,but now plays for Hatayspor in Türkiye was caught up in the 7.7 magnitude earthquakewhich occurred on Monday.
False reports earlier claimed Atsu had rescued and taken to hospital with breathing difficulties and an injury to his right foot. However, one of Atsu’s teammates Kerim Alici, posted on his Instagram account denying the winger had been found.
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.
Other footballers, including Onur Ergun and Burak Oksuz, were rescued following the incident. Two other team-mates of Atsu, Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis, are 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.
more to follow…
