Former Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu who currently plays for Hatayspor of Turkey has been found alive in rubbles after hours of intensified searching in the rubble.
According to Hatayspor's manager Mustafa Ozat, Atsu has been found but the club's sporting director is still trapped under the collapsed buildings according to BBC.
"Christian Atsu was removed from the wreckage with injuries. Unfortunately, our sporting director Taner Savut is still under the rubble.
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"Hatay was deeply affected. We are coming towards the end of the most dangerous hours," said Ozat.
It has been reported that the earthquake has claimed more than 4800 lives and the number could even go higher as the authorities continue to search for bodies trapped under the rubble.
Other footballers affected by the earthquake include Burak Oksuz and Onur Ergun who were rescued after the incident while Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis have been reported safe by the club. Kerim Alici freed himself from the ruins.
The rise of Atsu
Atsu is a Ghanaian footballer who joined the Premier League in 2013 after ditching the Portuguese League to join Chelsea.
Atsu made 112 appearances in the Premier League where he only scored eight goals in eight years.
He scored all of his goals while playing for Newcastle, a club that supported him majorly in his senior career.
Atsu made 107 appearances for Newcastle after failing to impress at Stamford Bridge despite Chelsea being his dream club.
His spot in the Newcastle squad was threatened and Atsu opted to move to Al-Raed in 2021 where he made eight appearances only but failed to score.
Atsu ditched Al-Raed in 2022 to join Hatayspor where he had only made three appearances and scored once prior to the earthquake.
The former Chelsea winger made 65 international appearances for Ghana where he scored nine goals between 2012 to 2019.