Former Chelsea and Newcastle United player Christian Atsu has been reportedly found dead after he went missing for days after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
According to many reports on Twitter, Christian Atsu’s agent confirmed that the ex-Premier League winger has been found dead, 12 days after the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria.
Atsu, 31, played for current team Hatayspor the day before the 7.7 magnitude quake struck. The current death toll from both countries has now topped 37,000 – 31,974 of which have come from Turkey.
His club Hatayspor initially reported he was rescued “with injuries” but a day later that position changed. Nana Sechere, who is in Hatay, said they located Atsu’s “exact room location” and found pairs of his shoes.
The agent also said that thermal imaging cameras had shown signs of “up to five lives” beneath the rubble, but that it had not been possible to confirm those signs.
He added that “things are moving incredibly slow” and they “urgently need more resources, including a translator”, adding that as a result “any rescues are being delayed, and lives are being lost.”
And said it was “unfortunate” that Atsu’s Turkish club was “not on the ground with us, side by side, in the search for Christian”.
“Their position and influence, accompanied with their local knowledge, would be extremely helpful,” he added.
He was on the books at Chelsea and played for Everton, Bournemouth, and Newcastle before moving to Turkish club Hatayspor in September last year.
The Ghanaian scored in the final minute of the club’s match against rivals Kasimpasa on Sunday afternoon and returned home to his apartment after celebrating with a late-night game of poker with his teammates before the earthquake struck.
He played 258 matches in his career and scored 24 goals with 30 assists.