Panic gripped the plane carrying Gambia's national football team to Côte d'Ivoire for the African Cup of Nations. According to the Daily Mail, the pilot suddenly had to return to Banjul airport ten minutes after take-off because he was in danger of running out of oxygen. Some passengers fainted. There was nervousness and uncertainty lasted for several minutes. Fortunately, everything turned out fine.

Some witnesses on the plane took to social media. Saidy Janko, a former Manchester United and Real Valladolid player who now plays for Young Boys, said: "Many people were suffering from severe headaches and extreme dizziness due to the inhumane heat and the constant lack of oxygen. People were also falling asleep within minutes of boarding the plane".

The Gambia Football Federation said in a statement on Facebook: "Apparently the crew noticed technical problems and the plane had to return after only nine minutes in the air. Everything happened very, very quickly. "Preliminary investigations indicate that there was a loss of pressure and oxygen in the cabin," the federation added in an attempt to explain the events.

Tom Saintfiet, Gambia's head coach, told Belgian television station VRT that he feared they all could have been killed: "We all could have died. We all fell asleep quickly. Me too. I had a little dream about how my life was going to end. We were almost poisoned by carbon monoxide. Another half hour of flying and we would have all been dead."

The Gambia Football Federation released a statement after the incident saying: "The chartered flight that took the Scorpions to the Africa Cup of Nations has returned to Banjul due to a technical problem. The flight had been in the air for nine minutes when the crew became aware of the situation and immediately requested a return to Banjul. Preliminary checks indicate that there was a loss of cabin pressure and oxygen. However, the situation is being further assessed by the technical team of the operating company, Air Cote d'Ivoire, to determine the cause of the loss of oxygen and cabin pressure."

The team will take another flight to the city of Yamoussoukro. There they will play a series of matches in the group stage of the African Cup of Nations. They will make their debut against Senegal next Monday. They then face Guinea on the 19th and Cameroon on the 23rd. This is the first group stage for Gambia, who will arrive with added anxiety after the plane scare.

The Gambian authorities stepped in to provide a new plane to continue the endless journey that began 32 hours earlier in Saudi Arabia.