Avram Grant, former coach of the Black Stars, described how he begged the Israeli rescue crew to locate Christian Atsu among the debris in Turkey.
Avram Grant admitted that the news that a Ghanaian player was caught in the Turkish earthquake caused him to become upset.
He claimed that as soon as he learned that one of his former teammates, Chrisitan Atsu, was buried in the debris, his concern heightened.
The former Chelsea manager claimed that he swiftly alerted the Israeli search and rescue squad sent to Turkey to help fetch Christian Atsu after getting in touch with Atsu’s manager as a result.
“I heard the news when it happened on day 1. I think after the earthquake they said it was a player from Ghana so I checked and people told me that it was Christian Atsu.
“I spoke to his agent and we tried to find a way, how to help his rescue. The rescue team was from my country so I sent them to check,” Avram Grant told George Addo Jnr monitored by Pak MediaGh.
To help Turkey rescue those who were buried under the rubble, Israel dispatched a group of more than 160 members of the Israel Defense Forces, including paramedics and firefighters.
After hearing erroneous claims that Christian Atsu had been located, the 68-year-old manager said he breathed a sigh of relief.
“The news that maybe he was okay and they found him but it was as you know; it was not true but we were so happy to hear it and then day by day it became worse and worse until we found out,” Avram Grant said.
Grant admitted that hearing the news that Christian Atsu was discovered dead in the earthquake was difficult to handle.
“It’s one of the saddest days that I had in my life you know. To hear that about Christian, 31 years old. Fantastic person — a good man — this is difficult. Difficult for me to speak about him now, he’s part of the past. It was really a shock, a big shock for me” he said.
19 citizens were saved from the wreckage in Turkey by members of the Israel Defense Forces who intervened to help Turkey.
The body of Christian Atsu was discovered 12 days after the February 6, 2023, earthquake in Turkey. The earthquake in Turkey claimed the lives of 40,642 people, including him.
Christian Atsu played for the Black Stars under Avram Grant, and he selected him for his team for the 2015 AFCON, where he earned Player of the Tournament.