Former Chelsea forward Atsu rescued after Turkey earthquake
London (AP/PTI): Former Chelsea and Newcastle forward Christian Atsu was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building following the deadly earthquake that struck Turkey, the Ghana Football Association said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
The Ghana international plays for Turkish club Hatayspor. A club spokesman on Monday told Turkish media that Atsu was thought to be in a building that was brought down by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria and has killed more than 5,000 people.
Özat said club director Taner Savut was also believed to be in a building that collapsed and club officials couldn’t contact both men. They were likely trapped, Özat said.
At least two other Hatayspor players had to be pulled out of rubble but were now safe, Özat said. Atsu and Savut were the only two Hatayspor players or officials still unaccounted for, he added.
The 31-year-old Atsu joined Hatayspor, which is based in the southern city of Antakya, last year after a spell playing in Saudi Arabia.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked large parts of Turkey and neighboring Syria in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.
The quake was centered in Turkey’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, and was felt as far away as Cairo in Egypt. Hours later, a second 7.5 magnitude jolt, which was possibly an aftershock, struck more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from the epicenter of the earthquake and caused more destruction.
Turkish authorities said more than 3,700 buildings were destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise.
Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo offered condolences to the people of Turkey on his official Facebook account and added: “We pray that our fellow Ghanaian, Christian Atsu, is found safe and sound.”
Ghana Football Association spokesman Henry Asante-Twum wrote in an email to The Associated Press that they had no news of Atsu and Ghana’s international relations department was seeking information from Turkish authorities.
Ibrahim Kwarteng, a friend of Atsu, said he had tried calling Atsu but couldn’t reach him.
“We are only praying that he will be found,” Kwarteng said.
Kwarteng runs a foundation in Ghana that helps former prisoners convicted of petty crimes to be reintegrated into society after their release from jail. He said Atsu was the single largest donor to the foundation.
Newcastle said on its official Twitter account it was “praying for some positive news” regarding Atsu.
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Maharashtra ANTF busts mephedrone racket, destroys 3 factories in Bengaluru
Thane (PTI): The Maharashtra Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) has busted an interstate drug manufacturing and distribution network, dismantling three mephedrone factories in Bengaluru and seizing contraband and machinery worth Rs 55.88 crore, officials said on Sunday.
The action, which is part of a state-wide crackdown against narcotics, began with the arrest of a man on the Pune-Mumbai Highway last week.
The Konkan unit of the ANTF seized mephedrone worth Rs 1.48 crore from the accused, Abdul Kader Rashid Sheikh, on the Pune-Mumbai highway at Vashi village in Navi Mumbai on December 21.
A case was registered, and the probe led the team to Prashant Yallapa Patil, a resident of Belgaum, who was involved in drug manufacturing, and they found out that the three factories were operating in Bengaluru.
Acting on this information, ANTF teams earlier this week arrested Suraj Ramesh Yadav and Malkhan Ramlal Bishnoi, both residents of Rajasthan, who were running the illegal operation in the Karnataka capital, the release stated.
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The accused led investigators to the manufacturing units in NG Golahalli, Yerappanahalli and Kannur, and the raids resulted in the seizure of 21.4 kg of mephedrone, both in solid and liquid forms.
Machinery and chemicals used for production were confiscated, and all three factories were destroyed.
Preliminary findings suggest that mephedrone produced at these units was supplied to multiple states, and the proceeds were used to purchase real estate in Bengaluru.
Four persons have been arrested in connection with the case so far, while efforts are on to nab two key suspects.
