Earthquake in Turkey: soccer player Christian Atsu is rescued alive from the rubble of a building

Ghanaian soccer player

was rescued from the rubble of a building after the

that hit

and was taken to a hospital with injuries, according to local media reports.

Atsu, who is in that country playing the Turkish league, was found alive but had

, all according to the first information coming from an area that is experiencing a drama of still incalculable magnitudes. .

In the last few hours, the vice president of the Turkish league club Hayatspor had reported that Atsu was trapped under the rubble after the earthquake that on Monday caused more than 3,000 deaths in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria.

Former player of

and

among other clubs, the 31-year-old Ghanaian winger signed in September for Turkish Hayatspor, whose sports director is Taner Savut.

"Taner Savut and Christian Atsu are still under the rubble," Mustafa Ozat had told Play Spor before the rescue version was circulated, adding that both were "trying to escape."

Atsu, pictured in a 2019 photo, playing for Newcastle.

Photo: AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File.

"Praying for positive news from @ChristianAtsu20," Newcastle, the club Atsu played for from 2016 to 2021, tweeted.

Atsu was capped by Ghana on more than 60 occasions, most recently in September 2019.

"We pray for the Ghanaian international Christian Atsu and for all the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria," the Ghanaian Football Federation wrote on the same social network.

"We are still trying to establish contact with the leadership of Hayatspor and the Turkish Football Federation, knowing how difficult the situation is," he added.

More than 3,000 people were killed by a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday.

In Turkey, where the epicenter was recorded, at least 1,762 people died, according to the latest balance reported by the emergency service.

Authorities added that more than 11,000 people were injured.

In Syria, the earthquake caused at least 1,293 deaths and more than 2,400 injuries.

The Syrian Health Ministry reported 593 people dead and 1,403 wounded in government-controlled areas in this war-torn country.

Source: AFP