Christian Atsu, Ghanian footballer and World Cup star has been found alive following Monday’s earthquakes in southern Turkey and Syria. Hatayspor Vice President Mustafa Ozat confirmed with Turkish radios stations that the 31-year-old player had been removed from the rubble with injuries. Ozat also stated that the search for sports director, Taner Savut, continues as he remains missing.
Atsu, who is originally from Ghana, joined Hatayspor in September after being part of the Newcastle team which won promotion back in the Premier League in 2017. Prior to that, Atsu joined Chelsea as a seasonal loan and later made his position permanent. He had temporary positions on Everton and Bournemouth. Everton posted on its Facebook page: “We are relieved to hear Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued and is recovering in hospital.”
The Ghana Football Association tweeted early Tuesday morning their relief on Atsu having been found, tweeting:
Update: 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🙏🏽
— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 7, 2023
Ozat also confirmed with BelN Sports on Monday that several other players and officials had been removed from the wreckage after the 7.8 magnitude quake caused casualties throughout ten provinces in the Middle East – the death toll is currently climbing well past 5,000 civilians across Turkey and Syria with over 21,000 people injured. As international teams come together and continue to search, finding Christian Atsu brings a glimmer of hope to even more survivors being found.
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