Former Premier League player Christian Atsu has been confirmed among 43,000 dead
Ghana international striker Christian Atsu, who played for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, has died in the earthquake in Turkey. he was 31
Search teams recovered Atsu’s body in the ruins of a 12-storey luxury building where he used to live in the city of Antakya in Hatay province, his manager said on Saturday.
Christian Atsu (right) in 2019 during his time at Newcastle United.Credit:AP
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble. At the moment his belongings are still being removed,” manager Murat Uzunmehmet told the private news agency DHA.
Atsu joined Turkish club Hatayspor in September and scored his new team’s winner in a league game at home against Kasimpaşa SK in the early hours of the morning on 5 February, just hours before the earthquake struck.
Antakya, the city where Hatayspor is based, is in the southern region of Turkey hardest hit by the earthquake.
The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria surpassed 43,000 on Friday.
Hatayspor said Atsu’s body will be transferred to Ghana. “There are no words to describe our sadness,” the club tweeted.
A day after the earthquake, there were reports that Atsu had been rescued.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/former-premier-league-player-christian-atsu-dies-in-turkey-earthquake-20230218-p5clm1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world Former Premier League player Christian Atsu has been confirmed among 43,000 dead
