Former Chelsea and Newcastle United forward Christian Atsu is reportedly found dead after he went missing for days after the earthquakes in Turkey. Atsu who played for Hatayspor before his tragic death was one of the star players from the Chelsea academy before heading to Turkey. The 31-year-old was residing in an apartment in the Hatay city which suffered huge damages during the quake.
BREAKING: Christian Atsu’s agent has confirmed ‘Atsu has been found dead’ pic.twitter.com/ASlLgRjxS3
— YabaLeftOnline (@yabaleftonline) February 18, 2023
Earlier developments in case
His club Hatayspor initially reported he was rescued “with injuries” but a day later that position changed. Nana Sechere, who is in Hatay, said they located Atsu’s “exact room location” and found pairs of his shoes.
The agent also said that thermal imaging cameras had shown signs of “up to five lives” beneath the rubble, but that it had not been possible to confirm those signs.
He added that “things are moving incredibly slow” and they “urgently need more resources, including a translator”, adding that as a result “any rescues are being delayed, and lives are being lost.”
And said it was “unfortunate” that Atsu’s Turkish club was “not on the ground with us, side by side, in the search for Christian”.
“Their position and influence, accompanied with their local knowledge, would be extremely helpful,” he added.
Last week Atsu’s partner Claire Rupio called for equipment to be sent to the collapsed building where he was living.
“It has been nine days since the earthquake and we still have not located Christian,” Sechere tweeted on Tuesday.
“I am at the quake site in Hatay with Christian’s family. The scenes are unimaginable and our hearts are broken for all the people affected.”
Atsu was staying in a building with a number of Hatayspor team-mates and officials. The club’s sporting director Taner Savut is also missing.
Some survivors are still being rescued after the quakes and aftershocks in southern Turkey and northern Syria that are known to have killed more than 40,000 people.
