FORMER Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu is reportedly trapped under rubble after the massive earthquake in Turkey.
Rescuers are desperately trying to find find the Ghana star after he was caught up in the 7.8 magnitude quake on Monday, local media reports.
The 31-year-old ex-Blue Atsu plays for Hatayspor, who he joined last summer.
Several members of his new team had to be rescued in their homes after the earthquake struck at 4am local time, reports Turkish paper Star.
But Atsu and Hatayspor’s sporting director Taner Savut remain missing under rubble at their respective homes.
The earthquake hit hard in Kahramanmaras, where Hatayspor are based.
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Two players and members of the technical staff were “pulled out of the rubble” in several dramatic rescue operations.
And efforts remain ongoing to find ex-Everton loanee Atsu and Savut as quickly as possible.
A clip of Atsu scoring a spectacular 97th minute freekick winner just last night was widely circulated on social media, along with messages praying for him to be found.
He isn’t the only footballer missing, with Yeni Malatyaspor goalie Ahmet Eyup also trapped.
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The club’s technical Director Volkan Demirel issued an appeal for help on his social media account.
““Things are very bad here. Help, we can’t reach people. Whoever can come, come now. We can’t reach anyone.”
Over 1,000 people are believed to have died in the earthquake that struck Turkey around 4am on Monday morning.
The city of Kahramanmara was lit up by flames after a gas pipeline exploded after being ruptured by the earthquake.
And experts say the toll could rise to 10,000 after a second 7.5 magnitude quake hit later on.
Neighbouring Syria was also hit badly, with the tremor felt in Egypt and Cyprus too.
Just yesterday Atsu struck a 97th minute for Hatayspor against Kasimpasa.
And fans are praying the winger is found safe and secure.
One said: “How the world was happy when he scored a goal yesterday, this is how the world appreciates your loved ones, friends.”
Another declared: “The man scored a goal yesterday, he was happy like crazy, now it comes to my mind, I’m crying.”
One added: “God help them.”
Atsu joined Chelsea from Porto for £3.5million in 2013 but didn’t make a single appearance for the Premier League giants.
He took in loans at Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth, Malaga and Newcastle.
And the Magpies made his deal permanent in 2017 after Atsu played a key role in their promotion from the Championship.
The ace ended up making 86 appearances for Newcastle before joining Al-Raed in 2021.
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Atsu moved to Hatayspor last summer and has one goal in four games for the Turks.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
