Ghanaian soccer star Christian Atsu was buried under rubble in the massive Turkey earthquake hours after scoring a last-minute goal to win a league game
AP; Burak Kara/Getty Images
- Hours after soccer player Christian Atsu scored his team's winning goal in Turkey, he was buried in earthquake rubble.
- Atsu was found alive on Tuesday, and is being treated for his injuries, his team said.
- The sporting director of the Turkish team is still missing in the aftermath of the devastating disaster.
Ghanaian soccer star Christian Atsu celebrated scoring a last-second game-winning goal in a Turkish league game on Sunday. But just hours later, Atsu and his teammates would be buried in rubble after devastating earthquakes decimated the region.
A former English Premier League player for Newcastle United, 31-year-old Atsu won the game for his team, Hatayspor, in Sunday night's Super Lig match against Kasimpasa, according to the Washington Post.
Atsu was in a building that collapsed in Turkey's Hatay province when the 7.8 earthquake and dozens of aftershocks struck Turkey and Syria early Monday morning, the Post reported.
On Tuesday, Atsu was found — injured but alive — in the destruction of the quake, according to the Ghana Football Association.
"We've received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment," the Association said in a tweet.
The club's vice president Mustafa Ozat told BeIN Sports that other players and team officials had also been rescued, Reuters reported.
But Ozat told Radyo Gol that the club's director Taner Savut "is unfortunately still under the rubble," according to the Post.
The Ghana Football Association has not revealed what kind of injuries Atsu is being treated for, but said in a tweet, "Let's continue to pray for Christian."
Authorities across the region say more than 5,000 people have been reported dead after the disaster, and thousands more are still trapped.