Christian Atsu yet to be rescued from rubble of earthquake in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey

Contrary to earlier reports, former Newcastle United winger and Ghana international Christian Atsu is yet to be rescued from the rubble of the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria.

Relatives of Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu told AFP on Wednesday that they still had no news of the player playing for Turkish club Hatayspor after the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, despite initially reassuring information.

While the Ghanaian Embassy in Turkey and the Ghana Football Federation assured on Tuesday that the attacker had been found alive in the rubble of a collapsed building, Hatayspor coach Volkan Demire l and image agent d'Atsu said on Wednesday they were worried about the fate of the former Chelsea and Newcastle player.

"The news I have is not good, he has not yet been found under the rubble," Demirel said in an audio message to AFP. "It's a very distressing situation," said Gaynor Fascione, Christian Atsu 's image agent, who is in contact with the player's family in the United Kingdom.

"He is still missing. The club cannot find him among all the hospitals," she told AFP. _"Everyone is trying to locate the medical centre where he might be."_ Initially, Ghana's ambassador to Ankara, Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, said on Tuesday that Christian Atsu had been found in Hatay.

"Christian Atsu was successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is currently receiving treatment," the Ghana Football Federation (GFA) wrote on Twitter.

The 31-year-old joined the Turkish club Hatayspor in September, based in the province of Hatay (south), near the epicentre of the violent earthquake that struck Turkey on Monday.

The earthquake, followed by powerful aftershocks, killed more than 11,200 people in Turkey and Syria, according to the latest official reports released on Wednesday, also leaving thousands injured and homeless in the freezing cold.

Atsu, 31 has played 107 games for Newcastle and had spells with Chelsea, Everton and Bournemouth.

He has won 65 caps for Ghana and joined Hatayspor in September after a season with Saudi Arabian team Al-Raed.