A week has passed since a footballer was buried under the rubble after a devastating earthquake struck parts of Turkey.
Atsu, who plays for Turkish side Hatayspor, was trapped under the rubble along with the club’s sporting director, Taner Sawut.
Both are still unaccounted for, with the football world uniting in praying for their safety and hoping for their rescue.
“Things are moving incredibly slowly and as a result many rescues are being delayed and lives are being lost due to the lack of resources available to workers.” The player’s agent said in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that the club is not side by side with us in our search for Christians. Their position and influence will be extremely helpful along with their local knowledge.
“We implore the president of the club and the mayor of Hatay, Lutf Savas, to provide additional resources to speed up rescue efforts as a matter of priority.”
They note that they have located Atsu’s exact room and two pairs of shoes belonging to him, but the player himself is missing.
Read the agent’s full statement below:
It’s been 9 days since the earthquake and we still haven’t found any Christians. I am at the earthquake site in Hatay with a Christian family. The scenes are unimaginable and our hearts are broken for all the affected people.
During my time here we were able to locate the exact location of Christian Atsu’s room and we found two pairs of his shoes.
Yesterday we received confirmation that the thermal imaging was showing signs of up to 5 lives, however, I was told that the only real confirmation of life is through sight, smell and sound and unfortunately we were unable to locate the Christian.
It is a difficult situation and we are extremely grateful to all Turkish and foreign rescue teams, local citizens and volunteers for their efforts and response in rescuing survivors. However, we urgently need more resources, including a translator, on the ground.
Things are moving incredibly slowly and as a result 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 side by side with us in our search for Christians. Their position and influence will be extremely helpful along with their local knowledge. We implore the president of the club and the mayor of Hatay, Lütfü Savaş, to provide additional resources to speed up rescue efforts as a priority.
