Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu of Turkish club Hatayspor has been found dead under the rubble of his building in Hatay, southern Turkey, his agent said on Saturday (February 18th) quoted by Turkish private news agency DHA. . "Atsu's lifeless body was found under the rubble. We take our stuff out again. His phone was also found,” said his agent, Murat Uzunmehmet.
According to Turkish media, the 31-year-old former Chelsea and Newcastle, England player was under the rubble of the Rönesans Residence, a twelve-story tower that collapsed in the quake.
Eight hundred people buried
Atsu had joined Turkish club Hatayspor in September, based in Hatay province, near the epicenter of the violent earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6. The developer of the luxury residence turned into ruins, where eight hundred people are believed to be buried, was arrested last week as he tried to leave Turkey.
The Ghanaian Embassy in Turkey and the Ghana Football Federation initially claimed that the striker had been found alive, but this information was later proven to be false.
The earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, killed more than 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria, according to the latest official reports released on Friday, also leaving thousands injured and homeless in the freezing cold.
