The dramatic echoes of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria a couple of weeks ago continue to raise the number of fatalities, which now exceeds 40,000 people. And this Saturday it was established that the prominent Ghanaian footballer christian atsu, Forward of the Turkish club Hatayspor and with a vast tour of numerous greats on the Old Continent, he was found dead in the rubble of the building in which he lived, a luxurious 12-story tower in the city of Hatay. Atsu was 31 years old.
“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble. They are still taking out his things. His phone was also found,” He limited himself to confirming his agent in Turkey, Murat Uzunmehmet, quoted by the Turkish private agency DHA, after a search for the player that had begun on the day of the tragedy, on February 6.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce to everyone (…) that the body of Christian Atsu was found this morning,” it turned out for his part on Twitter Nana Sechere, Atsu’s Ghanaian agent. “My sincere condolences to his family and those close to him. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers and support,” she added.
According to the Turkish media, the former Chelsea player he was under the rubble of the Rönesans residence, a 12-story tower that collapsed in the quake.
“The Ghanaian embassy in Turkey, which conveyed the sad news, indicates that the body was found early this morning,” the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained in a statement. “Christian Atsu’s older brother and twin sister, as well as an embassy attaché, were present at the scene when the body was recovered,” the text states.
“Anti-seismic” building and builder imprisoned when they tried to flee
The Ghanaian Embassy in Turkey and the Ghana Football Federation reported a couple of days after the earthquake that the footballer had been found alive, but that information later turned out to be false.
The developer of the luxury tower ronesanos, turned into ruins and in which hundreds of people would still be buried, he was detained last week when he tried to leave Turkey. Reportedly, the building was promoted as “earthquake-resistant,” an option that was false as it completely collapsed.
The earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, has killed more than 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria, according to the latest official reports released on Friday, also causing thousands of injuries and homelessness from the freezing cold.
Atsu had joined the Turkish club Hatayspor in September, based in Hatay province (south), near the epicenter of the violent earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria.
Long career in Europe
The winger was trained in Ghana at an academy of the Dutch club Feyenoord, and arrived in Europe in 2011 at the age of 17, to the FC Portowhere he quickly seduced some of the best teams on the continent.
In 2013, he was created with Chelsea, but he did not play official matches at the London club, which immediately loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Atsu was later loaned to Everton and others bournemouthwhere he did not have a good level, and thus he spent the 2015/16 season at the Malaga.
In 2016 he came to newcastleand transferred the following year for almost 8 million euros, but he only scored three goals in four seasons with the ‘Urracas’, before joining the team al raed in Saudi Arabia, and then finally arrive at Hatayspor, where the cruel trap of fate awaited him with the earthquake.
Several of his old teams, such as Porto, Chelsea and Newcastle, paid tribute to him on Saturday through statements. Atsu also had success with the Ghanaian national team, with whom he played four editions of the African Cup of Nations (CAN).
He started in the 2015 final against the Ivory Coast, but replaced him just before Ghana lost on penalties. Chosen as the best player of the CAN-2015, Atsu was included in the ideal eleven of the CAN in 2017.
He also traveled to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the ‘Black Stars’ were eliminated in the group stage. Christian Atsu leaves behind a widow and three children.
AFP/HB
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