A plane carrying The Gambia squad travelling to Ivory Coast for the forthcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was forced to make an emergency landing after several players passed out midair.
The Air Cote d’Ivoire flight turned around just nine minutes after leaving the Gambian capital Banjul on Wednesday due to a lack of oxygen in the plane which resulted in some players losing consciousness.
The coach of The Gambia national team, Tom Saintfiet told the BBC that the squad “could have died” from carbon monoxide poisoning on the plane.
The Belgian praised the quick thinking of the pilot for keeping his team safe. He said:
The local crew said there was a problem with the air conditioning before we took off but that it would be all fine when we took off. After a few minutes, it was very hot on the plane.
We all fell asleep because there was a lack of oxygen – some of the players couldn’t be woken up. The pilot noticed and we had to return.
People got headaches and if the flight had gone on for another 30 minutes, the whole team would have died.
The strange thing is that the oxygen masks didn’t come out – it’s good that the pilot realised that this was a deadly situation and so turned back. But we are still in shock.
Upon their return to Banjul on Wednesday night, The Gambia chose to train though some players were not able to do so. Added Saintfiet:
Some players could not train because of what happened. They still have headaches and that is worrying, while some of the players are still dizzy.
The team requested to train as we had been travelling overnight from Saudi Arabia to return home on Sunday, and Monday as well. We trained in a bid to release the stress.
Video footage posted on Instagram by one of the squad, former Manchester United youngster Saidy Janko, shows heavily sweating players leaving the plane after its return to The Gambia.
In a social media post, the Young Boys striker called the situation “unacceptable”. said:
As soon as we entered the small plane hired to fly us, we noticed the immense heat that left us dripping in sweat.
It was assured to us by the crew that the air condition[ing] would start once in the sky.
The inhumane heat mixed with the occurring lack of oxygen left many people with strong headaches and extreme dizziness.
Furthermore, people started falling deeply asleep minutes after take-off.
In a statement, the Gambian FA (GFA) said that “preliminary investigations indicated that there was a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen”. Part of the statement read:
The Gambia Football Federation regrets to inform the general public that the Chartered Flight carrying the Scorpions to the African Cup of Nations has returned to Banjul due to technical problems.
The flight was nine minutes airborne when the crew realised and immediately requested to return to Banjul.
Upon landing, preliminary investigations indicated that there was loss of cabin pressure and oxygen.
However, the technical team of the operating company of the flight, Air Cote d’Ivoire is further assessing the situation to establish what caused the lack of oxygen and cabin pressure.
In this regard, the team, including the players and staff are now on their way to base at the Ocean Bay Hotel as they await further instructions.
It is important to note that every member of the delegation is safe and in sound health.
The Gambia secured their spot at the 2023 AFCON with a 2-2 against Congo in September in a match played in Marrakesh, Morocco, less than 48 hours after the country suffered a devastating earthquake.
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