Lack of oxygen, dizziness, emergency landing: YB duo experiences a terrible trip to the Africa Cup

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For Saidy Janko (28) and Ebrima Colley (23) it is currently the African Cup of Nations instead of the Super League. The two YB players are preparing for the tournament in their home country with Gambia. The national team gathered in Saudi Arabia for the reunion and the first training sessions.

Now the start of the tournament (January 13) and thus the first match against Senegal (January 15) are getting closer. That’s why the Gambia players packed their things and left for Africa.

The host country Ivory Coast would be reached via a stopover in Gambia. But the trip became an unpleasant experience for the football players, Janko writes on Instagram. After a 32-hour journey from Saudi Arabia with long stops in Istanbul (Door) and Casablanca (March), a small plane was rented for the last leg.

“Inhuman heat”

As soon as we entered, “we noticed the enormous heat, which made us drenched in sweat,” says Janko. When we asked the crew, they said the air conditioning would turn on as soon as the plane was in the air. But after a short time the heat took its toll on the football players. “The inhuman heat, combined with the lack of oxygen, led to severe headaches and extreme dizziness for many,” Janko continued. Some of his teammates fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

But that is not enough. Once we were in the air, the situation became precarious. The pilot had no other choice, he had to make an emergency landing in Banjul nine minutes after take-off. “If that had not happened, the consequences could have been much worse!” says Janko, shocked. Because the oxygen would have run out and the whole thing could have essentially ended in tragedy.

Fortunately it didn’t come to that. In a video, Janko shows how the players, sweaty but relieved, leave the plane after the emergency landing. “We are grateful that everyone is doing well,” says Janko. But the whole thing is “unacceptable” and must be prevented in the future. (beer)

Source : Blick