The 31-year-old Ghana international, now playing his football with Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor, was said to be trapped under the rubble following the deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria last Monday.

Several reports on Monday evening said Atsu, who was reportedly trapped alongside the Hatayspor sporting director, Taner Savut, had been found alive, with Portuguese outlet A Bola saying he had sustained “injuries to his right foot and breathing difficulties”.

These reports, however, remain unconfirmed by Hatayspor, with teammate Kerim Alici also seeming to suggest in an Instagram story posted on Tuesday night that the two remained in trouble amidst reports of their rescue according to the Guardian.com

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Meanwhile, the Turkish rescue team claims to have retrieved a person from the rubble believed to be Christian Atsu and was sent to one of the national hospitals.

All the searches n the hospitals have proved futile because Atsu can’t be still found in any of them raising the alarm that he wasn’t saved as earlier stated by some newsmen in the Turkish media.

Atsu was part of the Magpies team which won promotion back to the Premier League in 2017 after joining on loan for the season from Chelsea and later completing a permanent move.

Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria during the early hours of Monday morning followed by a second of 7.5.

Around 3000 people are known to have died in the border region with rescue teams searching for survivors.

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