Following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey, former Chelsea and Newcastle winger Christian Atsu is reportedly trapped under the debris of a demolished building.
After the devastating earthquake that shook Turkey and Syria overnight and levelled neighbourhoods while families slept, more than 1,600 people have died and thousands more have been injured.
A search and rescue effort is in progress for Ghanaian international Atsu, who signed with Turkish Super Lig team Hatayspor last summer, according to numerous Turkish media reports.
Atsu, who scored a thrilling late winner for his club on Sunday, is still missing, although two of his squad teammates and members of the technical staff are reported to have been dragged out of the rubble.
The 31-year-old joined Chelsea in 2013, although he never played a competitive minute for the team because he was loaned out to Everton and Newcastle for several seasons.
He only played five times for Everton, but while on loan at Newcastle, he made an impression that led to a permanent switch to the Magpies.
Before joining the Saudi club Al-Raed in 2021, he made a total of 107 appearances for the club and scored eight goals during that time.
Newcastle said they were "pray[ing] for some good news" in a social media post that included a picture of Atsu from when he was a member of the team.
On Sunday, Atsu played for Hatayspor and scored a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time to help his team defeat Kasimpasa 1-0.
Important win for the squad, he remarked in a post-game message. "I'm contented to give a score".
Hatayspor is situated in Kahramanmaras, which was severely affected by the earthquake.
