President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says he is optimistic that Black Stars midfielder Christian Atsu will survive the earthquake in Turkey.

While interceding for Atsu, the president prayed he is found safe and sound.

In a Facebook post, Nana Akufo-Addo also extended his heartfelt condolences to the governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria who are mourning the deaths of over 2,000 people after an earthquake.

“On behalf of the Government and people of Ghana, I extend heartfelt condolences to the Governments and peoples of Turkey and Syria on the devastation and the tragic loss of lives occasioned by Monday’s earthquake. May their souls rest in perfect peace,” the Fifth President of the Fourth Republic wrote.

The death toll from a strong earthquake in south-eastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, has exceeded 2,300 people across both countries.

Turkey’s disaster agency said more than 1,500 people died there, while it is estimated that 810 people died in Syria.

Those numbers are still expected to rise as rescuers comb through mountains of rubble in freezing, snowy weather.

It is Turkey’s worst disaster in decades, the country’s president said.

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.

Seismologists said the first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey. Survivors said it took two minutes for the shaking to stop.

Twelve hours later, a second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.5, hit Turkey’s Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.

An official from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said it was “not an aftershock” and was “independent” from the earlier quake.

Turkey lies in one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday’s disaster was the worst the country had seen since 1939, when the Erzincan earthquake in eastern Turkey killed nearly 33,000 people.