Ghanaian footballer rescued from Turkish rubble battling breathing difficulties

• Ghanaian international footballer Christian Atsu was rescued from a deep rubble
• An earthquake with a 7.8 magnitude hit Turkey Syria and Iraq on Monday
• He is recovering in hospital

Ghanaian international footballer Christian Atsu was rescued from a deep rubble in Turkey occasioned by an earthquake.

Atsu was one of the many people affected by Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake together with other team members from Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor. Their headquarters caved in.

Atsu’s whereabouts remained widely unknown despite his teammates being saved. However, he was later rescued and rushed to hospital, according to Portuguese publication A Bola.

He sustained a right foot injury and is having breathing problems. Atsu was a young player when he first transferred from Porto to Chelsea in 2013 and later went on several loans.

Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu is battling breathing difficulties from rubble following an earthquake on Monday. Photo/Daily Express

Prior to moving permanently to Newcastle United in 2017, having never played a Premier League game for Chelsea, he briefly played for Everton and Bournemouth.

He joined the Saudi club Al-Raed after playing more than 100 games for the Magpies in 2021, although he later left the Middle East for Turkey in the summer. Just hours before the earthquake hit, he scored his first goal for the team this past weekend.

According to officials, the calamity has claimed the lives of over 1,300 people and injured 6,000 more. Hours after the initial earthquake, a large aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 struck southern Turkey. Reportedly, the earthquake moved to Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria thereafter.

Over 2,800 people have died in Turkey, and images show that many cities and villages have suffered devastating structure damage.

According to local authorities and humanitarian organisations cited by the AFP news agency, there are currently 800 fatalities and 2,000 injuries in Syria.

In a frantic search for survivors trapped by a severe earthquake, rescue personnel and citizens carried slabs of concrete to one another tonight across mountains of debris.

Screaming survivors could be heard in several areas of Turkey from below collapsing buildings.

Rescue operations continued while Turkey and Syria were engulfed in darkness, rain, and cold. Further, rescue workers in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province retrieved two toddlers alive from the wreckage.

About 20 people in Adana, Turkey, some wearing emergency rescue jackets, used power saws to create an opening that would allow survivors to escape or be rescued.

Later, motorised diggers joined the work when brilliant spotlights lit the debris. Along with about 3,500 soldiers, thousands of search and rescue workers, firefighters, and medical professionals worked in 10 provinces.

Screaming was heard from beneath buildings, and locals lifted the rubble to reveal the victims.

The aftermath of an earthquake in Turkey. Photo/Wikipedia

According to the defence ministry, injured people were being flown to hospitals in Ankara and Istanbul by Turkish military medical aircraft.

Turkish rescuers from all around the country attempted to reach the provinces despite blizzards and downpours.

The earthquake also affected other athletes, including football players. Hours after the initial earthquake, a powerful aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 struck Turkey’s south. Hatayspor manager Volkan Demirel’s wife posted an emotional message in response.

In a video posted on social media, Zeynep Sever Demirel said that Hatay is in a really horrible position. There were worries that the disaster would impact more footballers because several of her pals were said to still be buried beneath the debris.

Eyup Turkaslan, a goalie for the Turkish team Yeni Malatyaspor, was apparently among those buried under the wreckage. The football team posted a photo of Turkaslan with the statement, “Our prayers are with you.”