Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo has joined millions in praying for the rescue of Black Stars’ forward Christian Atsu.
The player reportedly went missing after deadly earthquake ripped through Turkey on Monday dawn.
A search and rescue operation is underway after Atsu, who formerly played for Chelsea and Newcastle United, was caught up in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
The Ghanaian president in a series of tweets commiserated with Turkey.
“On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake,” President AKufo-Addo said in a tweet.
“May their souls rest in perfect peace. Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound.”
The tremors of the main quake were felt more than a hundred miles in each direction from the epicentre – across southern Turkey and in northern Syria.
More than 2000 people have lost their lives in the disaster.
On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake. 1/2
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) February 6, 2023
May their souls rest in perfect peace. Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/7GOtpYyKAI
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) February 6, 2023
Atsu joined Chelsea as a youngster in 2013 from Porto before being sent on a number of loan spells. He spent time at Everton and Bournemouth before making a permanent switch to Newcastle United in 2017 having never played a Premier League game for Chelsea.
He left the Magpies having played over 100 games in 2021 to join Saudi side Al-Raed but departed the Middle East for Turkey in the summer.
The 65-cap Ghana international joined Super Lig club Hataysport last summer. He scored his first goal for the club this weekend, just hours before the earthquake struck.
Other footballers and sportspeople have been caught up in the chaos. The wife of Hatayspor manager Volkan Demirel shared a tearful message after a massive aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 hit Turkey’s south hours after the original quake.
“Hatay is in a very bad way,” Zeynep Sever Demirel said in a video shared on social media. A number of her friends were believed to still be trapped under rubble, with fears that more footballers could also be affected by the disaster.