Christian Atsu’s whereabouts still unclear

There have been concerns that Ghanaian forward Christian Atsu has not been found, contrary to initial claims made by Turkish media and the Ghana Football Association. Atsu, 31, was reported missing after earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, killing at least 20,000 people.

 Hatayspor’s club doctor, Gubey Kahveci, and Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere have said the player has still not been found. “When we heard the news that he was taken to Dortyol Hospital, we especially went and looked but he was not there”, said Kahveci.

Sechere, his agent, who was also among those who informed that the player had been pulled out of the rubble alive, via a tweet, said, 24 hours later, in another tweet, that the player’s whereabouts is unknown, and prior claims of him being found were not confirmed.

Hatayspor, which is based in the area of Kahramanmaras has largely been affected by the devastating earthquakes. Burak Oksuz and Bertug Yildirim who are players of the team were also trapped under the rubble but were found and rescued.

Ekrem Eksioglu and Osman Ates, who are members of the technical team were also affected but they recovered and reported to be in good health. Meanwhile, Hatayspor defender Kerim Alici got out of the rubble himself, according to talkSport.

However, second-division goalkeeper, Ahmet Eyup Turkaslan, sadly lost his life at the age of 28 after being trapped under the ruins.

The efforts into rescuing Atsu continue. His agent, Sechere has said that, unless he is seen and spoken with, updates cannot be provided.