Christian Atsu’s shoes found in rubble days after Turkey Earthquake

ANKARA, Turkey

Former Newcastle winger Christian Atsu is still missing 9 days after an earthquake in Turkey, with his agent appealing for more resources to aid rescue efforts.

While two pairs of Atsu’s shoes were found in the rubble, the player himself remains missing as the search for him continues, Nana Sechere said.

The Ghana international was declared missing a day after the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit Turkey and Syria last Monday.

In an update via Twitter, Atsu’s agent, Nana Sechere, confirmed that the search was still ongoing, but some of Atsu’s belongings had been located.

"It has been 9 days since the earthquake and we still have not located Christian. I am at the quake site in Hatay with Christian’s family.” he wrote.

"Yesterday we received confirmation that thermal imagery was showing signs of up to 5 lives, however, I am told that the only real confirmation of life is through sight, smell, and sound, and unfortunately we were not able to locate Christian.

"Things are moving incredibly slow and as a result of that many rescues are being delayed, and lives are being lost due to the lack of resources available to the workers. It is unfortunate that the club is not on the ground with us, side by side, in the search for Christian.

"We implore the President of the club and mayor of Hatay, Lütfü Savaş to provide additional resources to speed up the rescue efforts ...”

The former Newcastle United and Chelsea man moved to Turkey last September and scored his first goal for Hatayspor just hours before the devastating earthquake. To date, the disaster has claimed the lives of over 35,000 individuals.