Ghana soccer player pulled out alive from Turkey earthquake rubble
Christian Atsu receives the ball during the Newcastle United Training Session at the Newcastle United Training Centre on September 09, 2020 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Ghana international soccer player Christian Atsu has been found alive and rescued after being burried from the rubble of a collasped building following the deadly earthquake that struck Turkey.
The Ghana Football Association confirmed the news on Twitter.
"Update: We've received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment. Let’s continue to pray for Christian," the Ghana Football Association wrote Tuesday.
Atsu, 31, played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and Everton and joined Turkish club Hatayspor in September.
A club spokesman on Monday told Turkish media that Atsu was thought to be in a building that was brought down by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that hit southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria. The death toll soared above 7,200 Tuesday and was still expected to rise.
Crowd cheers as Syrian children pulled from rubble
Multiple children were found alive and pulled from a pile of rubble in Bisnia, Syria, even as the country’s death toll from catastrophic earthquakes surpassed 7,000 on Tuesday. Footage captured by Karam Kellieh shows a large crowd cheering as authorities rescued several people, including children, from debris.
Second-tier Turkish club Yeni Malatyaspor also confirmed on Twitter later on Tuesday that their goalkeeper Ahmet Eyup Turkaslan had died in the earthquake.
Atsu was receiving treatment but the GFA didn't give details of any injuries.
The shaking from Monday’s earthquake toppled thousands of buildings and heaped more misery on a region shaped by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
RELATED: Race to find survivors as earthquake toll tops 7,000
As of Tuesday, more than 8,000 people have been pulled from the debris in Turkey alone, and some 380,000 have taken refuge in government shelters or hotels, said Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay. They huddled in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers, while others spent the night outside in blankets gathering around fires.
This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.