Former Premier League player Christian Atsu remains missing, despite reports he had been rescued following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey.
The 31-year-old plays for Hatayspor in the Turkish league. The club’s manager, Volkan Demirel told Reuters the search for Atsu is continuing.
“There is no information on his whereabouts yet; we don’t know where he is,” Demirel said. “It’s not the case that he was pulled out or taken anywhere else.”
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Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere, confirmed that reports from Hatayspor that the Ghanaian had been found were premature.
“Following yesterday’s update from the club that Christian had been pulled out alive, we are yet to confirm Christian’s whereabouts,” he tweeted.
“As you can imagine, this continues to be a devastating time for his family and we are doing everything we can to locate Christian.
“Official updates will be provided as more information comes to light. Please respect the families (sic) privacy during this harrowing time, and refrain from spreading unsubstantiated news as this will only hamper the search efforts for Christian.”
Hatayspor manager Volkan Demirel told Turkish website Spor Arena there was no word on either Atsu or the club’s sporting director Taner Savut, who was also reported missing.
“If they were in hospital, don’t you think I would share this?,” he said, per the BBC.
“Please don’t be sure that he survived. This should not be written as he survived,” he said.
More than 12,000 people have died following the earthquakes.
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