From sister to wife: What Atsu's family have said so far about his situation

It has been more than a week and Christian Atsu is yet to be found as efforts continue to find the Ghanaian who is stuck in his destroyed apartment after the earthquake in Turkey on Monday, February 6, 2023.

Despite it being a tough time for Atsu's family, they have been forthcoming in clarifying misinformation and giving updates on the player's rescue process.

Atsu was initially reported to have been found but the report turned out to be false, which prompted his agent Nana Sechere to go on-site and follow up on the incident.

Also, his twin sister Christiana Atsupie Twasam and wife Marie-Claire Rupio have also engaged in interviews respectively pleading with Ghana and the UK governments to step in and help rescue their beloved.

Agent

Nana Sechere, the agent of Atsu provided an update on the search team's effort so far via a press release on February 14, 2023.

"It has been 9 days since the earthquake and we still have not located Christian. I am at the quake site in Hatay with Christian’s family. The scenes are unimaginable and our hearts are broken for all the people affected.

“During my time here we have been able to locate Christian Atsu’s exact room location, and we have found two pairs of his shoes.

Yesterday we received confirmation that thermal imagery was showing signs of up to 5 lives, however, I am told that the only real confirmation of life is through sight, smell, and sound, and unfortunately, we were not able to locate Christian.

This is a difficult situation and we are extremely grateful to all the Turkish and foreign rescue teams, local civilians, and volunteers for their efforts and response in rescuing survivors. However, we urgently need more resources, including a translator, on the ground.

The agent indicated lack of equipment has slowed the rescue team's work in locating and possibly saving the lives of people trapped in the rubble.

Things are moving incredibly slow and as a result of that many rescues are being delayed, and lives are being lost due to the lack of resources available to the workers. It is unfortunate that the club is not on the ground with us, side by side, in the search for Christian.

Their position and influence, accompanied with their local knowledge would be extremely helpful. We implore the President of the club and mayor of Hatay, Lütfü Savaş to provide additional resources to speed up the rescue efforts as a priority," the post read.

Christiana Atsupie Twasam

Christiana Atsupie Twasam, the twin sister of the player pleaded with the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to aid in the search for her brother.

“He (Pres. Akufo-Addo) should come in the search of my twin brother because now where I am I don’t know whether he’s found or not because he can’t be found in any hospital now,” she is quoted to have said by Onuafmonline.

Atsupie Twasam also urged people to be measured in their utterances since the disappearance of Christian Atsu is a very sensitive case to the family.

“I believe you have to have correct information about the person. If you haven’t seen it with your eyes you don’t have to confirm. I believe if they rescue someone, they give him to the next available ambulance to send to any hospital but if you haven’t had official confirmation, you don’t have to confirm. Because this is a delicate issue,” she noted.

Marie-Claire Rupio

A worried Marie-Claire Rupio, the wife of Christian Atsu in an interview with the BBC confirmed that her husband has not been found yet, adding that the rescue team lacks the necessary equipment for the operation.

"He is still trapped under the rubble but the problem is they don't have the necessary equipment needed to get them out. So he is still missing and they don't know where he is," she told BBC in an interview.

She, therefore, made an appeal to the governments of Turkey and the United Kingdom to deploy more personnel and equipment to help rescue her husband.

“I will appeal for the Hatayaspor club and the Turkish authorities and the British government to send the equipment to get the people out who are still trapped in the rubble. Especially for my husband and the father of my children as well because they need the equipment to get them out. They can’t get that deep without the equipment and time is running out,” she stated.

Uncle and Auntie

In interviews with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV, the extended family members of Atsu also offered their views on the issue.

At the time they spoke, the narrative was that Atsu had been rescued and on admission at a hospital in Turkey, undergoing treatment.

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