Christian Atsu, a winger for the Black Stars, is supposedly stuck under debris in Turkey following a significant earthquake. The Black Stars forward Christian Atsu, who plays for Hatayspor in Turkey, is reportedly one of hundreds of people still trapped beneath the rubble of Monday morning’s terrible earthquake there, according to a number of Turkish media reports. The search and rescue team is reportedly looking for the 30-year-old as well as Taner Savut, the club’s director.
Over the weekend, Atsu played for the team in their victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish top division, scoring the game’s lone goal.
In the early hours of Monday, a strong earthquake near the Syrian border in south-eastern Turkey killed more than 1,000 people while they slept and trapped many more.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in the city of Gaziantep at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) with a depth of 17.9 kilometers (11 miles). A second earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck the Elbistan district of the Kahramanmaras province hours later. 500 people have perished in Syria and over 900 in Turkey so far. Following a stint in Saudi Arabia, the 30-year-old Black Star signed a one-year contract to join the Turkish team.
Meanwhile some netizens expressed their views by saying the following statements:
John Ranko wrote: “God please in this hard times u are our only hope. God protect this man for us. A man with clean heart shouldn’t suffer like this. May u protect him wherever he is.”
Timpong Isaac also wrote: “I pray nothing happens to our brother, atsu set a lot of prisoners free by paying their various fines he have a clean heart. God hear our prayers now.”
Hayford Odoi also wrote: “Astu u have more innocent prisoners to free…Dear God for the sake of this poor and innocent prisoners who could no afford to pay a fine of 500gh let this man live…..Amen.”
Meanwhile a statement on the president’s Facebook read: “On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake. May their souls rest in perfect peace. Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound,”
Christian Atsu Twasam, a Ghanaian professional football player who competes for both the Ghana national team and Turkish Süper Lig club Hatayspor, was born on January 10, 1992. Although he has occasionally been used as an offensive midfielder, he often plays as a winger.
In addition to spending a season on loan with Rio Ave, he started his career at Porto. He was acquired by Chelsea for £3.5 million in 2013, and after that, the club loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Málaga. He signed a permanent switch to Newcastle United in May 2017 after spending the 2016–17 campaign there on loan.
Atsu, a full international with more than 60 appearances under his belt since his 2012 debut, has represented Ghana at two Africa Cup of Nations competitions in addition to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. At the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, where he also won Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament, he contributed to the team’s second-place result.
Atsu was born in the Greater Accra Region’s Ada Foah. He completed a portion of his education at the West African Football Academy in Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana, which had formerly been known as the Feyenoord Football Academy in Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region of Ghana. Later, he relocated to Kasoa and joined the club Cheetah FC.
When Atsu, at 17, first arrived at Porto, manager Patrick Greveraars saw him and gave him his first opportunity to complete his football formation with the team. He was selected by André Villas-Boas, the manager of the first team, for a match against Martimo in the Primeira Liga on May 14, 2011, although he remained on the bench.
Atsu, like his teammate Kelvin, was loaned out to Rio Ave of the same league for the 2011–12 campaign. On August 28, 2011, he made his competition debut against Olhanense in a 0-1 home loss. Atsu scored the first goal against Benfica on December 16, 2011, at Estádio da Luz, although the home team went on to win 5-1.
