NEWCASTLE United has managed to establish its star player Nolberto Solano is safe after the earthquake in Peru.

The club contacted the playmaker in his native country yesterday as the bodies of the dead were counted.

The player, who had spent time in the capital Lima, is due to return to the North-East next week. He had been on holiday after a tough season with Newcastle, and international duties for Peru.

A spokesman for the club said: "We have been in regular touch with him and he has been visiting his family in Peru. I am happy to say he is safe and we are expecting him to return next week."

At least 50 people were killed and more than 800 injured by the earthquake in southern Peru on Saturday.

More than 70 aftershocks hit the area during the following days.

Peru's earthquake specialists said it measured 6.9 on the Richter scale, but the US Geological Survey said it reached 7.9, making it one of the strongest quakes to hit Peru in the past 100 years.