World Cup soccer star Christian Atsu — who was believed to have been pulled from the rubble of the earthquake in Turkey — is still missing, his agent said Wednesday.
Atsu’s agent said despite his soccer club announcing Tuesday that the player had survived the ruinous earthquake, they haven’t been able to confirm the Ghanaian soccer star’s whereabouts. It’s unclear what contributed to the confusion.
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“Following yesterday’s update from the club that, Christian had been pulled out alive, we are yet to confirm Christian’s whereabouts,” his agent Nana Sechere said in the statement posted to Twitter.
“As you can imagine, this continues to be a devastating time for his family and we are doing everything we can to locate Christian,” he added.
He plays for Hatayspor, a team based in the Hatay province of Turkey, the area most devastated by the massive quake.
The team’s manager Volkan Demirel told Turkish sports website Spor Arena Monday that both Atsu and the team’s sporting director Taner Savut were still unaccounted for.
Christian Atsu was said to have been found alive following the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday, but his agent said that claim has not been confirmed.Newcastle United via Getty Image
The earthquake killed over 11,000 people across Turkey and Syria, and the death toll will likely continue to rise, officials have said.SEDAT SUNA/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockEmergency teams have worked around the clock trying to rescue people from the rubble.REUTERS
“There is no news about Atsu and Taner Savut yet,” Demirel said.
But Tuesday, the club’s vice president Mustafa Özat said Atsu had been rescued.
Hatayspor team doctor Gurbey Kahveci said he went to the hospital after hearing Atsu had been pulled out of the rubble alive and only suffered injuries — but he was not there.
Here’s the latest coverage on the Turkey-Syria earthquake:
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“When we heard the news that ‘he was taken to Dortyol Hospital,’ we especially went and looked, but it was not there. At the moment, we accept that [the sporting director] Taner Savut and Christian Atsu were not found, unfortunate,” he told radio station Joy FM.
Sechere said he last heard from the 31-year-old former Chelsea, Everton, Bournemouth and Newcastle United winger on Sunday, hours after he brought his team to victory in the final minute of a game against his club’s rival.
Christian Atsu previously played for Chelsea, Everton, Bournemouth and Newcastle United.Newcastle UnitedChristian Atsu brought his team to a last-second victory on Sunday, scoring against the team’s rival.picture alliance via Getty Image
“The last I heard from him was at midnight on Sunday. Christian and his teammates were playing poker until 3:30 a.m. at a friend’s apartment,”