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Upwards of 11,000 people have been killed and thousands have been left injured after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkiye and Syria overnight on Sunday, followed by strong aftershocks that included a 7.5 quake on Monday. CBS News has you covered with the latest developments.
However, despite a Ghana FA statement confirming the safety of Christian Atsu early on Tuesday, the player’s agent has since confirmed that his client remains missing after he was trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building after the massive earthquake hit as families slept, according to the Associated Press.
“We are doing everything we can to locate Christian,” said Nana Sechere. “As you can imagine, this continues to be a devastating time for his family.”
The player representative also added via social media: “Following yesterday’s update from the club that Christian had been pulled out alive, we are yet to confirm Christian’s whereabouts.”
Atsu, 31, plays for Hatayspor and scored a late winning goal in a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa just hours before the earthquake hit. He played for Chelsea and Newcastle United in the past and has 65 caps for the Black Stars. His former clubs all publicly stated their hope for positive news regarding the search for Atsu earlier in the week.
Hatayspor boss Volkan Demirel told Turkish sports outlet Spor Arena there was “no news yet” regarding Atsu or sporting director Taner Savut, who is also missing with unknown whereabouts.
“If they were in hospital, do you not think that I would share this? Please do not be sure that he survived. This should not be written as he survived,” said Demirel.
Atsu’s most recent social media update expressed his happiness at scoring the winning goal vs. Kasimpasa on Sunday, less than 24 hours before the earthquake: “Important win for the team,” he wrote. “Happy to be on the scoresheet.”
Atsu’s team Hatayspor are based in Kahramanmaras which was hit hard by the earthquake and communications have been greatly impacted since the event which has contributed towards a sense of “confusion” regarding the player’s whereabouts.
“Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here informed me that they wanted to confirm if Christian Atsu had been found and rescued, and sent to a medical centre,” Ghana’s Ambassador to Turkey, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, told radio station Joy FM.
“However, in all the confusion — which is understandable under the circumstances (being evacuated and sent to hospital) — they are not sure yet which particular hospital or health facility he has been sent to.
“This morning again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured me they are working feverishly to find out which facility he was sent to and will get back to me as soon as possible because I have been on them that I need to go and see him.”
Sadly, local reports out of Turkiye confirmed the death of Yeni Malatyaspor goalkeeper Ahmet Eyup Turkaslan whose body has been recovered according to Yagiz Sabuncuoglu: “The lifeless body of Yeni Malatyaspor goalkeeper Eyup Ahmet Turkaslan was pulled out from under the rubble,” he reported.
CBS Sports will continue to update this news story with more developments as they materialize. For more news on the earthquake and local rescue efforts, follow CBS News.
