Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu’s agent says the former Chelsea stars’ body was found under rubble of the building he lived in, in Turkey, after last week’s massive earthquakes.
Atsu, who joined Turkish club Hatayspor last year, had been missing since the February 6 earthquakes devastated parts of both Turkey and Syria. Search teams recovered Atsu’s body in the ruins of Ronesans Residence, a luxury 12-storey building where he had been living, in the city of Antakya in Hatay province.
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble,” agent Murat Uzunmehmet told reporters in Hatay. “Currently, more items are still being taken out. His phone was also found.”
Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the earthquakes, but Hatayspor’s manager said on Friday that the Ghanaian opted to stay with the club after scoring the winning goal in a Super Lig match on February 5. “The elder brother and twin sister of Christian Atsu and an officer of the (Ghanaian) embassy were present at the site when the body was recovered,” Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Having won 65 caps for Ghana, Atsu, who joined Hatayspor last September, had spells with English Premier League clubs Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle United, who described him as “a talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters”.
On Twitter, Hatayspor said: “We will not forget you, Atsu. Peace be upon you, beautiful person. There are no words to describe our sadness”.
He joined Chelsea from Porto in 2013 and had several loan spells at clubs including Vitesse and Bournemouth.
A Chelsea statement said: “Chelsea sends our heartfelt condolences to Christian’s family and friends and to all those affected by the earthquake tragedy,” whilst Everton also said, on Twitter: “Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues at Hatayspor and everyone affected by this tragic event that has claimed so many lives,” they said.
More than 45,000 people have been killed in the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria, and the toll is expected to rise further with some 264,000 apartments in Turkey destroyed and many people still missing.
