Christian Atsu’s wife and kids were shocked to learn on the radio that their father was still missing after believing he had been located, his spouse, Marie-Claire Rupio says.
Atsu, a former Chelsea star, was trapped under debris in Turkey after the building he was in fell as a result of a terrifying earthquake, and his whereabouts are still unknown.
Atsu who joined Hatayspor last summer, was on the ninth floor of the building when a strong 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday.
According to Hatayspor’s vice president, he was discovered alive under the rubble and taken to a hospital in Kahramanmaras on Tuesday.
However, Atsu’s representative Nana Sechere stated the next day that his whereabouts were “unconfirmed.”
In an interview with the BBC, Christian Atsu’s wife Marie-Claire Rupio said: “It was quite shocking, as you can imagine, with the club confirming that he has been found alive and taken to hospital.”
“And 11 hours later, my children had to hear it from the radio saying that they still don’t know where he is.”
“I know that his agent is there and they are trying their best to find him, so I trust that he will bring me the news that if he sees him or speaks to him.”
“But it’s quite confusing, everything.”
The last time Christian Atsu’s wife and their children spoke to the Ghanaian star, who was staying with his colleagues in Turkey, was on Saturday morning.
The mother continued: “All I know is that currently his agent is in Turkey, and he’s trying to get to the place where it happened.”
“They know where the building is, and they’re trying their best to rescue everybody.”
“They know that there are people still under the rubble, but the problem is that they don’t have the equipment necessary to get them out.”
“So he is still missing, and we don’t know where he is.”
What Happened In Turkey?
Within 24 hours of the initial quake, two more occurred, leaving a trail of devastation that extended hundreds of miles along Turkey’s border with Syria.
On Monday night, video showed rescuers rummaging through the rubble of Atsu’s apartment building while using searchlights.
Then, local media stated, he and Hatayspor’s sporting director Taner Savut’s voices were heard amid the debris.
Nevertheless, his whereabouts are still unknown despite claims that he had been rescued from the rubble.
Last Saturday, Atsu scored in the final seconds to give his team a 1-0 victory over Kasimpasa just hours before the initial earthquake.
The Star tweeted: “Important win for the team. Happy to be on the scoresheet.”
Now that the dreadful milestone of 22,000 has been passed, more people have died.
According to Turkey’s disaster management organization, 19,300 deaths and more than 77,000 injuries have been officially attributed to the tragedy in Turkey.
More than 3,300 deaths in Syria have been officially reported, raising the country’s death toll to over 22,000 overall.
Murat Kurum, Turkey’s minister of environment and urban planning, estimates that 12,000 buildings in the country have either collapsed or suffered significant damage.
Christian Atsu
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.
Atsu started his professional career with Porto and also spent a year on loan at Rio Ave. 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 four Africa Cup of Nations competitions in addition to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In 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 finish.
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