\n
The Gambia delegation have refused to return to the same plane
for their trip to Ivory Coast<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gambia head coach, Tom Saintfiet, has said his team avoided tragedy on Wednesday when the plane transporting them to Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was forced to turn back due to a lack of oxygen.<\/p>\n
The team were travelling in a small 50-seater propeller plane, registered to Air Cote d\u2019Ivoire, which had been arranged for them by the Gambian Football Association.<\/p>\n
Saintfiet said the oxygen supply on the flight failed, causing some members of the team to lose consciousness before the pilot opted to return to Gambia\u2019s capital, Banjul.<\/p>\n
The Gambian FA said that \u201cpreliminary investigations indicated that there was a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the technical team of the operating company of the flight, Air Cote d\u2019Ivoire is further assessing the situation to establish what caused the lack of oxygen and cabin pressure,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
Air Cote d\u2019Ivoire has not yet replied to a request for comment by ESPN.<\/p>\n
Saintfiet told ESPN: \u201cWe were really dying in the plane. There was no oxygen in this plane, everyone fell asleep, became a little bit unconscious, and the pilot decided after nine minutes of being in the air to return to save our lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no oxygen masks dropping down \u2026 I am ready to die for Gambia, but on the football pitch, not off it. I had short dreams where my life passed, I had moments where I thought I was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gambia defender Saidy Janko said his teammates began to slip into unconsciousness after the plane took off.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as we entered the small plane that was hired to fly us, we noticed the intense heat that left us dripping with sweat,\u201d Janko said in a post on Instagram. \u201cIt was assured to us by the crew that the air conditioning would start once we are in the sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe inhumane heat mixed with the lack of oxygen left many people with strong headaches and full dizziness. Furthermore, people started falling deeply asleep minutes after takeoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the air, the situation got worse, leaving the pilot with no choice but to initiate an emergency landing. If it wasn\u2019t for this, the consequences could have been a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
They are due to play their AFCON opener against holders Senegal in Yamoussoukro on Monday, but Saintfiet said their participation at the tournament now hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) declined to comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople still have headaches, vomiting, are dizzy, it could take weeks before we recover from this,\u201d Saintfiet added. \u201cWe are confused, and we\u2019re even saying to not go to the Africa Cup, because we don\u2019t get treated as we want.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have families, we have children, but [they] put us in the cheapest plane possible. We haven\u2019t trained for three days, didn\u2019t sleep for three days, for two days we\u2019ve had no lunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is the case, let\u2019s go home, let\u2019s forget AFCON.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saintfiet said his Gambia team remain in Banjul, having refused invitation from the Gambia FA to reattempt the 2100-km flight on the same aircraft they originally boarded on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Gambia delegation have refused to return to the same planefor their trip to Ivory Coast \u00a0 Gambia head coach, Tom Saintfiet, has said his team avoided tragedy on Wednesday when the plane transporting them to Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was forced to turn back due to a lack of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n
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