Hatayspor FC Vice-President Mustapha Ozat says efforts are still being made to contact Ghanaian international Christian Atsu and Sporting Director Taner Savut.
Atsu and Savut are among the thousands of people who remain under the rubble following an earthquake that struck many cities in Turkey in the early hours of Monday.
According to the Vice-President, most members of the Hatayspor playing body have been accounted for, except for Atsu and Savut, who remain under the rubble.
“Christain Atsu and Taner Savut are still under the rubble. We are trying to reach them,” Mr Ozat said.
Many Ghanaians from all walks of life are praying for the rescue of Christain Atsu, who scored his first goal for his team in their 1-0 win over Kasimpasa on Sunday.
“On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake. “May their souls rest in perfect peace,” President Nana Akufo-Addo tweeted.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors, and we pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound,” he wrote. Former President John Dramani Mahama wrote on Twitter: “Let’s continue to pray for our brother, Christian Atsu, and his club director. The city of Hayat is in the region affected by the earthquake. Let’s continue to pray that God spares their lives.”
In other related developments, the Ghana Paralympic Committee says all athletes living in the Turkey region are safe and sound.
A statement released by the GPC said it had made contact with athletes in affected areas, with no casualties yet.
Rescuers in Turkey and war-ravaged Syria searched through the frigid night into Tuesday, hoping to pull more survivors from the rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 4,000 people and toppled thousands of buildings across a wide region.
Authorities feared the death toll from Monday’s pre-dawn earthquake and aftershocks would keep climbing as rescuers looked for survivors among tangles of metal and concrete spread across the region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war and refugee crisis.
Survivors cried out for help from within mountains of debris as first responders contended with rain and snow. Seismic activity continued to rattle the region, including another jolt nearly as powerful as the initial quake. Workers carefully pulled away slabs of concrete and reached for bodies as desperate families waited for news of loved ones.
