The remains of Ghanaian soccer player Christian Atsu have been recovered from the rubble in Turkey’s Hatay province following the major earthquakes that struck the region in early February.
Atsu played a vital role during his last game for Turkey’s Hatayspor against fellow Turkish soccer team Kasimpasa when he scored the winning goal right before the game clock hit zero on Feb. 5.
Following the game, in the early hours of Feb. 6, Atsu got trapped under a building that fell following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country and its neighbor Syria, according to Insider.
Previous reports mentioned he was found the following day and receiving medical care, which the Ghana Soccer Association’s Twitter account verified at the time.
Update: We’ve received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment.
Let’s continue to pray for Christian🙏🏽
— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 7, 2023
However, the New York Post reports the 31-year-old was still missing a day later.
His fans, friends, family and current and former colleagues held out hope that’d he be found alive, but, unfortunately, his remains were found on Feb. 17 and flown back to his native Ghana. The country’s football league confirmed his death on Twitter on Feb. 18.
The Ghana Football Association has received the sad news of the recovery of the body of Christian Atsu from the rubble following the earthquake that struck Southern and Central Turkey on Monday, February 6, 2023.
May his Soul Rest in Peace! 🖤🕊️
📰: https://t.co/iJ38HQWPtv pic.twitter.com/6gjdkxlvzy
— Ghana Football Association (@ghanafaofficial) February 18, 2023
According to The Guardian, Atsu was married to Marie-Claire Rupio and had a daughter and two sons.
