ANKARA, Feb 18 (Portal) – Ghana winger Christian Atsu was found dead under the building where he lived in southern Turkey after last week’s massive earthquake, his Turkish agent said on Saturday.
Atsu had been missing since the February 6 earthquake after a residential building collapsed in Hatay. he was 31
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble,” Murat Uzunmehmet told reporters in Hatay. “More items are currently being removed. His cell phone was also found.”
Atsu was due to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the quake struck, but the Hatayspor manager said on Friday the Ghanaian had decided to stay with the club after scoring the winning goal in a Super Lig game on February 5.
Atsu joined Hatayspor in September last year after stints at English Premier League clubs Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
“We won’t forget you, Atsu. Peace be on you beautiful person. There are no words to describe our sadness,” Hatayspor said on Twitter.
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Newcastle also paid tribute, saying: “A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and fans.”
Atsu has 65 caps for Ghana and helped them reach the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final where they lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. He was last selected for Ghana in 2019.
He joined Chelsea from Porto in 2013 and has had several loan spells at clubs including Vitesse and Bournemouth.
“Chelsea extends our heartfelt condolences to Christian’s family and friends and to everyone affected by the earthquake tragedy,” the London club said.
More than 45,000 people were killed in the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria and the death toll is expected to continue rising as the country’s worst modern disaster destroyed some 264,000 homes in Turkey and many more be missed.
Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Manasi Pathak; Edited by William Mallard and Alex Richardson
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