Gambia’s Scorpions and their officials are lucky to be alive after the airplane taking them to Cote d’Ivoire for the African Cup of Nations suddenly lost supply of oxygen.
The aircraft had to make an emergency landing nine minutes after take off
Head coach Tom Saintfiet claimed those on board the flight were subjected to “carbon monoxide poisoning”, while defender Saidy Janko said the lack of oxygen made people fall asleep.
Air Cote d’Ivoire said it is investigating what caused the lack of oxygen and cabin pressure. No injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
The plane was airborne for nine minutes, before it returned to The Gambia’s capital, Banjul, according to the Gambian Football Federation.
“Upon landing, preliminary investigations indicated that there was loss of cabin pressure and oxygen,” a statement read.
A re-arranged flight took the team to the Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday.
Saintfiet told local Belgian network VRT that the team narrowly escaped death, saying: “Some players also did not wake up immediately after landing.”
In a post on Instagram, former Manchester United player Janko said the “inhumane heat mixed with the occurring lack of oxygen left many people with strong headaches and extreme dizziness”.
He added: “We are grateful that everyone is feeling well but this is a situation that has to be addressed going into the AFCON, as being only one of our obstacles on international duty.
“This is unacceptable and such has to cease with immediate effect.”
