The Gambia national team was close to tragedy during the flight to the African Cup of Nations, a competition that will be held in Ivory Coast. Breeder Tom Saintfit said he almost lost his life due to lack of oxygen on board the plane.

The plane carrying the Gambia national team to Ivory Coast made an emergency landing

The aircraft took off, but turned back after a few minutes of flight due to a depressurization in the cabin, the national federation said.

“We could all have died. We all quickly fell asleep, including me. I had short dreams about what my life was like. After nine minutes, the pilot decided to turn back, because there were no more oxygen reserves.

Some players did not wake up immediately after landing. We almost got carbon monoxide poisoning. Another half hour flight and we would all be dead.

We are now in the Gambia and do not want to fly on such a plane. It was only the smallest they could find, maybe with propellers, for 50 people.

When you see a plane that Ghana uses and we… As if all that mattered was that it was just flying. But we fly out on Thursday. We must fly. This is a deadline or we will be kicked out of the tournament.

So now he’s looking for a plane. But: there are limits. I am ready to die on the football field, I am not ready to die for my work next to this field” – Tom Senfier, coach of the Gambia national team, Belgium.

The feeling of fear was shared by Saidi Yanko in a message published on social networks. The Gambian from “Young Boys Burn” emphasized the “unacceptable” conditions in which he flew.

“As soon as we boarded the small plane that was chartered for us, we felt a tremendous heat that made us sweat profusely.

The staff assured us that the air conditioning would start when we got outside. Then the inhuman heat mixed with the lack of oxygen and many began to have headaches and dizziness. Some even fainted after takeoff.

If it weren’t for the U-turn and forced landing in Banjul, the consequences could have been much worse!” – Saidy Yanko (28 years old) on Instagram.

At the Cup of African Nations, Gambia will play in Group C, along with Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea, writes News.ro.