The head coach of the Gambia national team, whose flight to the Ivory Coast for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was aborted, felt that his players’ lives were in danger. The flight turned around minutes after leaving Gambian capital Banjul on Wednesday. Tom Saintfiet said that there was a lack of oxygen in the cabin, leading to many in the delegation to fall asleep.
The Gambian football federation said after the landing that preliminary investigations “indicated that there was loss of cabin pressure and oxygen”.
“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 in the plane,” Saintfiet told BBC Sport Africa
“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.”
The Belgian said that the team chose to train upon their return to Banjul on Wednesday night, although some in the squad were not able to take part. “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,” said Saintfiet.
“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,” he said. In a post on Instagram, Gambia player Saidy Janko said the lack of oxygen left people with strong headaches and extreme dizziness, with people falling asleep minutes after takeoff. The team is expected to take another flight to Ivory Coast on Thursday afternoon and travel to the city of Yamoussoukro where some of the games are taking place, the federation said.