Ghanian football star Cristian Atsu trapped under rubble

Top Turkish league contender Hatayspor's left-winger Cristian Atsu and sporting director Taner Savut are trapped under collapsed buildings in the team's base-city Hatay following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that has wreaked southeast Turkey.

Hatayspor Sportif Direktörü Taner Savut ve Cristian Atsu, enkaz altında kaldı. Arama kurtarma ekipleri iki ismi arıyor.
— Yağız Sabuncuoğlu (@yagosabuncuoglu) February 6, 2023

Atsu, who has played for Ghana's national team 65 times, signed for Hatayspor last summer on a free transfer. He scored the winning goal for his team the evening before the earthquake. He had also played for Chelsea and Newcastle United, and Porto, among others.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL
Atakaş Hatayspor'umuz 1-0 Kasımpaşa#HTYvKAS pic.twitter.com/h95p0OwKlo
— Hatayspor (@Hatayspor_FK) February 5, 2023

Another two players and two members of the coaching staff were also trapped under rubble, but they were later rescued and are in good health, according to local media.

The club's manager Volkan Demirel took to social media to send an emotional plea for help, where he asked for "as much help as possible, not just for Hatay, but also for neighbouring areas" before bursting into tears.

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Hatayspor is currently 14th in the Super Lig table. Turkey's Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kasapoglu announced that all national sporting events have been suspended until further notice following of the disaster.