The head coach of Gambia’s national football team Tom Saintfiet says the team was trapped in the middle of the shocking earthquake that struck Morocco on Friday night.
Saintfiet described as “terrible”, the series of events that he and the team witnessed on Friday ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo.
The Belgian said he thought a plane had crashed into the hotel where the national team was staying, with the 30-second experience feeling “endless”.
“I thought that a plane had crashed into the hotel because we’re close to the airport. Later, I knew it was an earthquake,” he told the BBC.
“It seems it was only 30 seconds but it felt endless. It was really scary. I never in my life saw a building moving like that.”
“We ran outside the hotel and all went to the pool area and slept there in the open air with the other guests as we were told that we couldn’t return to our rooms.”
They went on with their game on Sunday evening but Saturday’s qualifier between Morocco and Liberia, which was set to take place in Agadir, was cancelled.
Instead, the Moroccan national team took a break from training on Sunday to donate blood to victims of the disaster. Over 2,100 people have been killed and thousands others injured in the 6.8 magnitude quake.