A former World Cup player has died after going missing in the Turkey earthquakes
© Matt Dunham, Associated Press
Chelsea’s Pedro, left, and Newcastle United’s Christian Atsu vie for the ball during an English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
This article was originally published on Feb. 6. It was updated on Feb. 21 to reflect the news of Christian Atsu’s death.
Former World Cup player Christian Atsu has died after he was reported missing in the wake of this month’s earthquakes in Turkey.
He scored a game-winning goal for the Turkish Super Lig’s Hatayspor just the day before the devastating earthquakes hit the region.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria early on Monday, Feb. 6, and was shortly followed by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The quakes destroyed almost 3,000 buildings and killed more than 3,800 people, the Deseret News previously reported.
RelatedSports journalist Saddick Adams reported that Atsu was on the ninth floor of one of the collapsed buildings with nine other players and two team officials. At the time of his tweet, three of the players and one of the officials had been found, Adams said.
A team spokesperson informed Turkish media that Atsu was “under the rubble” with the team’s sporting director, Taner Savut, according to ESPN.
Three hours later, Adams tweeted that he had been told by Atsu’s management that Atsu had been found and been taken to a hospital. But those reports turned out to be false and, on Saturday, his body was found under a collapsed building, according to ESPN.
“We hoped against hope, every day that passed, we prayed and prayed. But alas, when he was found, he was no more,” said Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president of Ghana, when Atsu’s body returned home Sunday, the article noted.
Who is Christian Atsu?
On Sunday, Atsu entered Hatayspor’s game against Kasimpasa as a substitute. He scored the game-winning goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time, according to ESPN.
After the game, Atsu tweeted he was “happy to be on the scoresheet.”
The 31-year-old midfielder previously played for Chelsea and Newcastle United and scored three goals in 80 Premier League appearances, per the league’s website.
He also represented Ghana in the 2014 World Cup and in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, ESPN reported.
At the time of the earthquakes, the Ghana Football Association said their thoughts and prayers were with Atsu and those affected by the quakes in a statement they released on Twitter.
“We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria,” the association said. “We continue with our efforts to establish contact with officials of Hataspor and the Turkish Football Federation, considering the difficult situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Christian Atsu and our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria. We remain hopeful for positive news.”
