It has been reported that the Former Chelsea loanee Christian Atsu is among those declared missing in the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquakes which occurred today.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake, the strongest on record in the region, followed by a magnitude 7.5 nine hours later, in addition to numerous lower magnitude aftershocks struck Turkey and Syria.
The extent of the damage the earthquake left in its wake is untold, with dozens of buildings collapsed, including many high-rise residential blocks, with people left under the rubbles.
The current death toll is said to be over 2000 and still rising and many countries across the world have sent rescue team and aids to both countries.
The number of casualties is increasing – entering a territory where they are hard to grasp due to the depth of the twin disaster.
Unfortunately, among those reportedly missing is former Chelsea loanee Christian Atsu, who joined Hatayspor last summer. In fact, he scored a last-minute winning goal for them yesterday, in a 1-0 win over Kasımpaşa. Atsu is among several members of the club missing at this time.
Atsu joined us from FC Porto in 2013, and while he never quite got to make his debut, he spent multiple preseasons with Chelsea while going out on loan several times, including most notably to Vitesse as well as Newcastle United. He would transfer to Newcastle in 2017 and spend the next four years there as well.
We join all others in hoping for some positive news about Christian, and hoping that rescue workers can free as many people trapped under the rubble as possible. If you’re in the USA, the Turkish Embassy have provided information for monetary or in-kind donations to help with the search and rescue operations.
