Former Chelsea and Newcastle winger, Christian Atsu remains trapped under rubble as search and rescue teams continue their bid to save him following a devastating earthquake in Turkey.

The 31-year-old, who played for both Chelsea and Newcastle during his time in the Premier League, was caught up in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake which occurred on Monday.

Speaking to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Hatayspor manager Mustafa Özat had confirmed that Atsu and the club’s sporting director Taner Savut were still under the rubble.

False reports claimed Atsu had been rescued and taken to hospital with breathing difficulties and an injury on his right foot. However, one of Atsu’s teammates Kerim Alici, posted on his Instagram account denying that the winger had been found.

Hatayspor, Atsu’s current club, is located in the Turkish city of the Hatay, which is believed to be one of the areas worst affected by the incident.

Other footballers, including Onur Ergun and Burak Oksuz, were rescued following the incident. Two other team-mates of Atsu, Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis, are safe, while Kerim Alici managed to free himself from the rubble.

Atsu, who joined Chelsea as a youngster back in 2013 after leaving Porto, also had spells with a number of other top-flight clubs including Everton and Bournemouth before moving to St James’ Park.

He joined Hatayspor in the summer and scored his first goal for the club on Sunday night – just hours before the disaster which has devastated Turkey.

It has been reported that at least 2,800 people have lost their lives following the incident with over 12,000 more believed to be injured across Turkey and Syria. A massive aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the south of Turkey just hours after the original quake. Reports say it was felt once again in Syria and also Iraqi Kurdistan.