Gambia football team forced to return home due to massive aeroplane disaster ahead of AFCON 2023

The plane made an emergency landing after a short supply of Oxygen

Travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023), the Gambia football squad came “within half an hour of dying” due to a malfunction in the cabin air supply.

They barely survived. When multiple players passed out soon after entering the plane, the team and coaching staff were travelling from Banjul, the nation’s capital city, to the Ivory Coast for the competition. With the oxygen supply critically inadequate, the pilot had to make a last-minute landing back at Banjul Airport shortly after departure.

In an Instagram post, Saidy Janko, a former Manchester United player, stated that certain passengers experienced “strong headaches and extreme dizziness.”

‘We could all have been dead. We all fell asleep quickly. Me, too. I had short dreams about how my life was done. Really and truly.

Snapping a video showing the team getting off the plane, Janko attacked his nation’s organisation for being in such an ‘awful’ condition. Tom Saintfiet, a Belgian coach for the Gambia, told Nieuwsblad:

Trending World Football Articles:

• Top four players with most goals in 2023
• Top six players with most assists in 2023
• Best goals scored in football in 2023: Ranked
• Top 10 best footballers of 2023: Ranked
• Best football matches of 2023: Ranked

‘After nine minutes the pilot decided to return because there was no oxygen supply. Some players did not wake up [until] immediately after landing. ‘We almost got carbon monoxide poisoning. Another half hour of flying and we would all have been dead.’

On Instagram, 28-year-old Janko commented, “Unacceptable.” We had a 32-hour journey from the Saudi Arabian Training Camp to The Gambia, with lengthy stops in Istanbul and Casablanca. presently we had planned to take a flight from The Gambia to Ivory Coast for the AFCON.

‘As soon as we entered the small plane that was 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 conditioning would start once we are 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 entering the aircraft/takeoff.’

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.