Tragedy was averted as the plane carrying players of the Gambia national team, made a u-turn to Banjul moments after take off due to lack of oxygen on Wednesday, January 10.
The squad and coaching staff were on a two and a half hours flight from the capital city of Banjul heading for Ivory Coast for the tournament.
Sports Brief reports that the plane had to be delayed after losing oxygen.
Speaking about the incident, Gambia coach, Tom Saintfiet, said everyone on the flight could have died from carbon monoxide poisoning had the pilot not returned to the airport.
‘We could all have been dead,’ Saintfiet told the Belgian newspaper Nieuwsblad.
‘We all fell asleep quickly, and after nine minutes, the pilot decided to return because there was no oxygen supply.
Some players did not wake up immediately after landing. We almost got carbon monoxide poisoning.
‘Another half hour of flight and we would all be dead.
A statement from the Gambia Football Federation on Thursday, read in part: “The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) regrets to inform the general public that the chartered flight carrying the Scorpions to the Africa Cup of Nations returned to Banjul due to technical problems.
“The flight was nine minutes long when the crew realised this and immediately requested a return to Banjul. Upon landing, preliminary investigations indicated that there had been a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen.”
A new departure time have been arranged for the players and officials.
The Scorpions are in Group C with defending champions, Senegal; five-time champions Cameroon, and Guinea.
