Former Newcastle player Christian Atsu reportedly rescued from rubble in Turkey following earthquake
A former Premier League footballer has reportedly been rescued following an earthquake in Turkey.
Christian Atsu, who has previously played for Newcastle, Everton and Chelsea, was said to have been trapped in rubble following the quake on Monday.
Atsu, who was believed to be trapped alongside Hatayspor sporting director Taner Savut, is injured but is now out of the building, vice president Mustafa Özat told a Turkish radio station
The 31-year-old Atsu is said to be receiving treatment in hospital.
Speaking to Radyo Gol, Mustafa Özat said: "Christian Atsu was taken out with injuries. Our sporting director, Taner Savut , is unfortunately still under the rubble. Hatay was very affected. We are coming towards the end of the most dangerous hours."
A Ghana Football Association tweet read: “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. Let’s continue to pray for Christian.”
There was no mention of Savut in the post, with Hatayspor also not providing any updates via their own social media channels.
Everton and Newcastle FC has also tweeted their relief at the news.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing in central Turkey and north-west Syria after two major earthquakes killed more than 4,000 people.
Authorities fear the death toll will keep climbing after a powerful 7.8 magnitude quake rocked south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday at approximately 4am.
Less than 10 hours later, at about 1:30pm local time, a second earthquake hit about 80 miles from the first epicentre.
Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 200 miles to the northeast - roughly as far apart as the distance between Manchester and London.
Atsu was part of the Magpies team which won promotion back to the Premier League in 2017 after joining on loan for the season from Chelsea, and later completed a permanent move.
A post on the club’s official Twitter account on Monday said: “Praying for some positive news, @ChristianAtsu20.”
Atsu, who scored deep into stoppage time on Sunday to secure a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa, left St James’ Park during the summer of 2021 after making 121 appearances for the club.
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