“I have good news”: this is how the rescue of footballer Christian Atsu was confirmed, in the rubble after the earthquake in Turkey

The Ghanaian footballer and former Málaga, Chelsea and Newcastle player, Christian Atsu was found alive in the rubble after the earthquake which has caused more than 5,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria, the Ghanaian ambassador to Turkey confirmed on Tuesday.

Atsu, 31, signed last September for the hatayspor of the Turkish Super League, based in the south of Hatay Province (South), near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on Monday.

“I have good news. I have just been informed by the president of the Ghanaian association that Christian Atsu was found in Hatay,” Ambassador Francisca Ashietey-Odunton told Ghanaian station Asaase Radio.

The African country’s football federation also confirmed that the player was found alive: “Christian Atsu was successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is currently undergoing treatment,” he wrote on Twitter.

Initial reports on Monday indicated that Atsu had been taken to hospital with obvious breathing difficulties and an injury to his right foot.

The earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, killed more than 5,000 people in Turkey and Syria, injured thousands and left thousands homeless. This balance is still provisional.

The club is looking for a coach

“Christian Atsu was rescued with injuries. Our sporting director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still under the rubble,” a club spokesman announced this morning. hatayspor at the radio station Radio Gol.

The club did not provide any further information on the player’s health.

The city of Hatay is located about 180 kilometers south of the province where the magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit southeastern Turkey, killing at least 2,900 people in Turkey and another 1,500 in neighboring Syria.

The 31-year-old forward has also played for Porto, Chelsea and Newcastle, among other clubs.