What happened on Gambia flight to AFCON 2023? Africa Cup of Nations squad 'could have died' on plane

Gambia manager Tom Saintfiet said the pilot of their aborted initial journey to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) saved the lives of his players and staff by turning the aircraft around within minutes of taking off.

The squad left the Gambian capital of Banjul on Wednesday on a flight operated by official tournament airline Air Cote d'Ivoire following a long journey for the players and staff from their training camp in Saudi Arabia.

Saintfiet praised the pilot for reacting to a scenario the coach described as deadly by swiftly turning the flight around and returning to Banjul.

Members of the playing squad, including former Manchester United defender Saidy Janko, were left shaken after having quickly lost consciousness on the plane. Janko stated the situation could have been "a lot worse" had it not been for the pilot's actions.

Here's what happened, what's been said in response and the latest on Gambia's preparations for the tournament.

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The plane carrying the Gambia squad turned around minutes into the flight after several passengers had fallen into a deep sleep.

A statement from Air Cote d'Ivoire said that the air crew decided to turn back because of a pressurisation problem that could have been resolved by a mechanic, adding that the flight was subsequently cancelled because of the impact of earlier delays on the crew's working hours.

But Saintfiet suggested the squad could have been facing carbon monoxide poisoning and told ESPN that the passengers were "really dying".

"There was no oxygen in this plane," the highly respected Belgian coach said. "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.

"There