Read previewA plane carrying a national soccer team had to make an emergency landing Wednesday due to an oxygen shortage on board, The Gambia Football Federation said in a statement.
The Gambia team's coach, Tom Saintfiet, told the BBC he believed the squad "could have died."
"We all fell asleep because there was a lack of oxygen — some of the players couldn't be woken up," he added.
But it couldn't take off again as the crew timed out because the soccer team had arrived four hours late at the airport, according to the airline.
The Gambia squad returned to their hotel before flying to the Ivory Coast on a different plane, an Airbus A319, the following day.
Persons:
—, Saidy Janko —, BSC Young Boys —, Tom Saintfiet
Organizations:
Service, Gambia Football Federation, Business, Air Côte d'Ivoire, Africa, Nations, Bombardier Dash, Swiss, BSC Young Boys, BBC, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Airbus, Senegal
Locations:
Africa, Gambia, Banjul, Ivory Coast