'Pray for Atsu' - Reactions as fans express serious worry on social media worry over missing Ghana star

Earlier today, several reports claimed that former Chelsea and Newcastle midfielder Christian Atsu is trapped under wreckage caused by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey in the early hours of Monday, February 6.

The 31-year-old Ghanaian who currently plays with Turkish club Hatayspor, was at home when the earthquake struck, and rescue efforts are underway to get him out from under the rubble. 

Atsu is one of the many people believed to be trapped in the aftermath of the earthquake as is Hatayspor’s sporting director Taner Savut, who helped bring Atsu to the club in the summer. 

According to reports, Atsu was not the only Hatayspor player caught in the earthquake, but he is the only one currently still missing as his other team members have been accounted for, including some who were rescued from their own houses. 

Following the disturbing news on Monday, here’s how fans have reacted on social media:

A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake unleashed devastation in southern Turkey on Monday, February 6, 2023. 

The quake and its aftershocks toppled buildings and sparked fires with over 2,300 people reportedly dead.

 In one harrowing video, bystanders are seen running run as a residential building crumbles into dust after the earthquakes. 

The earthquake, which was also felt in Lebanon and Israel, has killed more than 2,300 people, Turkish and Syrian officials said, and left thousands more injured, according to the Associated Press. 

"Because the debris removal efforts are continuing in many buildings in the earthquake zone, we do not know how high the number of dead and injured will rise," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, according to the Associated Press.

 "Our hope is that we recover from this disaster with the least loss of life possible," Erdogan added. 

"I pray that God protects us and all humanity from such natural disasters."

 According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was in southern Turkey, 20 miles away from the city of Gaziantep. 

The Governor of the Gaziantep province wrote on Twitter that the quake was "felt strongly" in the region. 

The earthquake was followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock 11 minutes later and more than a dozen aftershocks have been recorded since then.

 Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said at least 1,498 were killed and 8,533 others were injured in the areas of of Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Adana, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis and Malatya, with more than 2,800 buildings also destroyed according to reports.