FEARS are growing for Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu who is believed to be trapped under rubble after two massive earthquakes in Turkey.
Rescuers are desperately trying to find the Ghana star after he was caught up in the 7.8 magnitude quake on Monday before another 7.5 magnitude quake hit hours later.
The 31-year-old ex-Blue Atsu plays for Hatayspor, who he joined last summer.
It is understood Atsu - who has three kids with his wife Marie-Claire - was on the ninth floor of an apartment block when it collapsed.
Several members of his new team had to be rescued from their homes after the earthquake struck at 4am local time.
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But Atsu and Hatayspor's sporting director Taner Savut remain missing under rubble at their respective homes, Hatayspor vice president Mustafa Ozat confirmed.
The earthquake hit hard in Kahramanmaras, where Hatayspor are based.
Two players and members of the technical staff were "pulled out of the rubble" in several dramatic rescue operations.
And efforts remain ongoing to find ex-Everton loanee Atsu and Savut as quickly as possible.
More than 12 hours after the first quake, Ozat confirmed: "All members of the playing body and staff are accounted for, except Christian Atsu and Taner Savut, who are still under the rubber.
"We are still trying to reach them."
Newcastle and Chelsea are anxiously awaiting news of their former player.
A post on Newcastle's official Twitter account said: "Praying for some positive news, @ChristianAtsu20."
While Chelsea tweeted: "We're praying for you, Christian Atsu."
Atsu was part of the Magpies team which won promotion back to the Premier League in 2017 after joining on loan for the season from Chelsea, and later completed a permanent move.
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The footballer, who scored deep into stoppage time on Saturday to secure a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa, left St James' Park during the summer of 2021 after making 121 appearances for the club.
A clip of Atsu scoring the spectacular 97th-minute freekick winner just last night was widely circulated on social media, along with messages praying for him to be found.
Atsu was last selected to play for Ghana in 2019, but has not officially retired from international football.
The Ghana Football Association tweeted: "We pray for Ghana International Christian Atsu and victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
"We remain hopeful for positive news."
Atsu isn't the only footballer missing, with Yeni Malatyaspor goalie Ahmet Eyup also trapped.
The club's technical Director Volkan Demirel issued an appeal for help on his social media account.
"Things are very bad here. Help, we can't reach people. Whoever can come, come now. We can't reach anyone.”
QUAKE HELL
Many thousands are feared dead after two "once-in-a-century" earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria.
A massive 7.8 magnitude shock - one of the biggest for 100 years - was followed hours later by another huge 7.5 magnitude quake, devastating at least 12 cities.
The city of Kahramanmara was lit up by flames after a gas pipeline exploded after being ruptured by the earthquake.
Frantic survivors used their bare hands to dig through the rubble of flattened homes and were filmed pulling children to safety amid scenes of utter destruction.
The twin earthquakes also sparked tsunami alerts on Mediterranean coasts in Greece, Cyprus and Italy, and shaking was felt as far away as Egypt and Iran.
By the evening the confirmed death toll was over 2,600 - but the US Geological Survey warned it could top 10,000 when rescuers have reached the worst hit areas.
Most victims were asleep when the initial mega quake hit at 4am local time.
The 7.8 shock was the biggest in Turkey for "hundreds of years", geophysics professor Martin Mai told the BBC.
It struck near Gaziantep in eastern Turkey at a depth of around 15 miles.
It was followed by dozens of powerful aftershocks which toppled already damaged buildings in great heaps of dust.
Then just before 1.30pm a second massive quake of magnitude 7.5 sent terrified locals running into the streets.
Videos showed buildings collapse as rescue workers fled for their lives amid dust and chaos.
The second quake - which was just six miles deep with an epicentre 59 miles north of the first - would itself have been the region's most powerful since 1999.
Neighbouring Syria was also hit badly, with the tremor felt in Egypt and Cyprus too.
Just yesterday Atsu struck a 97th minute for Hatayspor against Kasimpasa.
And fans are praying the winger is found safe and secure.
One said: "How the world was happy when he scored a goal yesterday, this is how the world appreciates your loved ones, friends."
Another declared: "The man scored a goal yesterday, he was happy like crazy, now it comes to my mind, I'm crying."
One added: "God help them."
Atsu joined Chelsea from Porto for £3.5million in 2013 but didn't make a single appearance for the Premier League giants.
He took in loans at Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth, Malaga and Newcastle.
And the Magpies made his deal permanent in 2017 after Atsu played a key role in their promotion from the Championship.
The ace ended up making 86 appearances for Newcastle before joining Al-Raed in 2021.
Atsu moved to Hatayspor last summer and has one goal in four games for the Turks.
