by
Upwards of 5,000 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.
Ghana Football Association confirmed the safety of Christian Atsu early on Tuesday, who was trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed building after the massive earthquake hit as families slept, according to the Associated Press.
“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,” read a Ghana FA statement. “Let’s continue to pray for Christian.”
The 31-year-old plays for Hatayspor and scored a late winning goal in a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa just hours before the earthquake hit.
Atsu played for Chelsea and Newcastle United in the past and has 65 caps for the Black Stars and his former clubs all publicly stated their hope for positive news regarding the search for Atsu.
The Magpies have posted on Twitter that they are “praying for some good news” while Chelsea also said they were “praying” for their former player as well as sending thoughts to those affected in both Turkiye and Syria.
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 teammate Onur Ergun has responded via Instagram to correct reports that he is missing: “Thank you very much to everyone who called and asked,” he wrote. “The news is not true. I am fine.”
Sadly, local reports out of Turkiye were not so positive regarding 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.
