Atsu is safe and sound – Twin sister confirms

The twin sister of former Black Stars and Hatayspor winger, Christian Atsu, has confirmed the player’s safety.

Christiana Atsupie Twasam says her twin brother is “safe and sound."

Atsu together with his club director, Taner Savut, were trapped under debris for 26 hours when an earthquake hit Turkey Monday morning.

Earlier, conflicting news about the player’s safety went rife but in an exclusive interview with crimecheckghana.org, London-based Astupie Twasam stressed her brother was safe.

“I received a call from his agent around 6 am this morning that he has been found and taken to the hospital. We thank God though but I want to hear his voice before I calm down," she said.

The 31-year-old said the family was preparing to fly to the Western Asian country to ascertain the condition of the player.

“I am preparing to leave for Turkey. I want to see the extent of the injury he has sustained“ adding that “ these past few hours have not been easy, it has been tears and prayers to God," she added.

Christian Atsu was in action for Hatayspor over the weekend in their victory over Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight with the Ghanaian scoring the only goal.

She continued that, “I saw him scoring in Sunday’s match, so I had planned to congratulate him when I get home but I slept off.“

“Something strange happened when I woke up to use the washroom and I felt heavy in my spirit, so I said in my head that Atsu will not die. A few hours after this, his agent called to tell me about the earthquake,“ she added.

Allaying fears concerning the player’s wife and children, Atsupe said “the children are here in London, I have spoken to them in a video this morning. They are fine.”

“We are grateful to Ghanaians for their prayers and words of encouragement,“ she added.

On Monday February, 6, 2023 earthquake claimed over 4,300 lives while 15,000 others sustained various degrees of injuries.

In September 2022, the 31-year-old Black Stars winger penned a one-year deal to join the Turkish side following a spell in Saudi Arabia.

Background

A powerful earthquake struck South-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, killing more than 4,300 people as they slept and trapping many others in the early hours of Monday.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep.

Hours later, a second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.

In September 2022, the 31-year-old Black Stars winger penned a one-year deal to join the Turkish side following a spell in Saudi Arabia.

Watch their interview here: