Panic in The Gambian team as airplane makes emergency landing

Gambian national team trains ahead of their 2023 AFCON opener

Players and officials of The Gambian national team had cause to thank God yesterday when they escaped what would have been a fatal plane crash on their way to the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Gambian team left Banjul on Wednesday for the Ivoirien city of Yamoussoukro, venue of their group games, but the plane was forced to turn back minutes after take off because of lack of oxygen inside the craft.

A physically shaken Manager of The Gambian side, Tom Saintfiet, said the team feared for their lives when the plane made an emergency landing.
He said: “Luckily for us, the pilot recognised the problem and after nine minutes in the air turned around to land again. We all fell asleep.”

One of star players, Saidy Janko, wrote on Instagram: “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 condition 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 take-off.

“Whilst in the air, the situation got worse, leaving the pilot with no other option, than initiating an emergency landing back in Banjul airport nine minutes after take-off, which happened successfully. If it wasn’t for this, the consequences could have been a lot worse.”

The Gambia Football Federation said in a statement yesterday that preliminary investigations indicated that there was a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen.

It said: “However, the technical team of the operating company of the flight, Air Côte d’Ivoire, is