Former Newcastle United star Christian Atsu is reportedly yet to be accounted for after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked parts of Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday morning. The Ghanian struck a 97th-minute winner for his club Hatayspor on Sunday but there is now fears for a number of the Turkish side following the quake.
According to reports in Turkey, Atsu and Hatayspor club translator Emre Aslan are yet to be found among the rubble following the collapse of a building. Hatayspor stars Bertug Yıldırım and Burak Oksuz, wearing a club jersey, are said to have been pulled out of the rubble.
Club officials Ekrem Ekşioğlu, Osman Ateş and Kerim Alici also came out of the wreckage. However, there is so far no confirmed sighting of Atsu.
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Hatayspor manager and former Turkey international Volkan Demirel broke down in tears on social media as he implored the world to help his homeland after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Sunday night.
"Help! I want you to send all the resources you have to the environmentalist. It is not just Hatay and Antakya," Demirel pleaded in a video. "Please, I'm asking you. Please, please, for the love of God, people are dying here. For the love of God..."
Demiral's wife Zeynep Sever also shared a clip in which she urged emergency services to help find more survivors. “Hatay is in a very bad way," she said in an emotional plea.
Over 1,000 people are believed to have died in the earthquake that struck Turkey around 4am on Monday morning and experts say the toll could rise to 10,000 after a second 7.5 magnitude quake hit later on.
Newcastle co-owner reacted to the news by tweeting: "Horrific news out of Turkey, Syria and other parts of the region. Thoughts with all those affected by the earthquake."
Atsu featured 75 times for Newcastle over a four-year period, departing the club back in 2021. He has also featured for Chelsea and Porto during his career.
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