Gambia's journey to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the Ivory Coast took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when the plane carrying the team experienced a failure in its oxygen supply, leading to an emergency landing in Banjul.
The players and staff on board were left feeling severely ill, with some experiencing extreme dizziness and headaches, before the pilot decided to return to land safely.
According to Gambia national team coach Tom Saintfiet, the situation could have ended in tragedy if the pilot had not acted swiftly.
"We all fell asleep quickly. Me, too. I had short dreams about how my life was done. Really and truly. 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."
Saidy Janko, a former Manchester United right-back who now plays for Swiss side Young Boys, was among the Gambia players on the plane and criticized the Gambia Football Federation's organization as "unacceptable" in a video post on Instagram.
Janko recounted the events leading up to the emergency landing, describing the intense heat and lack of oxygen on the plane, which left many passengers feeling unwell.
The Gambia Football Federation released a statement expressing regret over the incident and assured that the team is now safe and in sound health.
They stated that the cause of the lack of oxygen and cabin pressure is still being investigated by the technical team of the operating company, Air Cote d'Ivoire.
Gambia's first game at AFCON is scheduled to take place on Monday against reigning champions Senegal, followed by matches against Guinea and Cameroon.
The team's participation in the tournament hangs in balance as they await further instructions and work towards finding a solution to travel to Ivory Coast as soon as possible.