In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that struck southern Turkey, officials from Hatayspor confirmed that Christian Atsu, the former Chelsea and Porto forward, remains in a precarious situation. The club’s spokesperson, Mustafa Özat, spoke about the ongoing crisis and the difficulties of communication, stressing that there has been no contact with Atsu or with the authorities in the affected area. According to Özat, there is a report circulating from a Portuguese outlet about Atsu, but the information cannot be verified at this time. The spokesperson emphasized that getting information through to anyone in the region has proven extremely challenging and that no direct lines to rescue teams or hospital staff have been established yet. The tone of the communications underscores the uncertainty that surrounded Atsu and the club in those initial hours after the quake. (DHA)
Earlier, it was reported that the 31-year-old Ghanaian international, who has been part of Hatayspor, had been relocated to a hospital. The updates described Atsu as suffering a serious injury to his right leg and experiencing breathing difficulties, highlighting the precarious medical condition he faced as teams scrambled to respond to the disaster. Health professionals were described as providing urgent care under challenging conditions, with hospitals in the region overwhelmed by casualties and the scale of damage caused by the quake. (DHA)
On the morning of February 6, a powerful earthquake struck the southern portion of Turkey, triggering a cascade of aftershocks and widespread destruction. Initial casualty counts indicated that thousands of lives had been impacted, with Turkish authorities and international agencies working around the clock to conduct search and rescue operations. Early assessments placed the earthquake’s magnitude around 7.7, according to data from the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center, while local seismology offices and global monitoring networks continued to update figures as more information became available. Rescue and relief efforts persisted as responders faced challenging terrain and debris-filled streets, underscoring the urgent need for shelter, medical care, clean water, and safe passage for those evacuated from collapsed structures. (DHA)