Ghanaian footballer, Christian Atsu, is reportedly among those trapped under rubble following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday.
According to Goal.com, the former Newcastle United forward who now plays for Hatayspor in the Turkish league, was among several players and club officials who were affected in the devastating earthquake.
A respected Turkish journalist, Yağız Sabuncuoğlu, said while several players of the club have been rescued following the earthquake, Atsu and club sporting director, Taner Savut, are still unaccounted for as a search and rescue operation is underway.
Atsu’s former Premier League club, Newcastle, in a tweet on Monday afternoon, said:
“Praying for some positive news, Christian Atsu.”
The Ghanaian international who had spent several years in England playing for top clubs like Chelsea, Everton, Bournemouth and Newcastle, joined the Turkish outfit in 2022.
Atsu joined Chelsea as a youngster in 2013 from Porto before being sent on a number of loan spells.
He spent time at Everton and Bournemouth before making a permanent switch to Newcastle United in 2017 having never played a Premier League game for Chelsea.
He left the Magpies having played over 100 games in 2021 to join Saudi side Al-Raed but departed the Middle East for Turkey in the summer.
Over 1,300 people have been reported killed in the massive earthquake, with its epicentre near the city of Kahramanmaras, with a further 6,000 injured, according to officials.