Eighteen Zambia national soccer team players along with 12 others perished on Tuesday night when a Zambia Air Force plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Gabon five minutes after take off from Gabonese capital Libreville, wrote the Times of Zambia on the front page on 29th April, 1993.

Football Association of Zambia, FAZ Chairman Micheal Mwape, Committee Member Wilson Sakala, national coach Godfrey Chitalu and his contemporary Alex Chola, Youth, Sport and Child Development deputy permanent secretary Nelson Zimba, team doctor Wilson Mtonga and Zana deputy news editor Joseph Salimu also died in the accident.

Soccer players who perished in the crash which also claimed five ZAF Crew members are Efford Chabala, John Soko , Whiteson Changwe, Robert Watiyakeni , Eston Mulenga , Derby Makinka
Moses Chikwalakwala, and Wisdom Mumba Chansa ,

Others Kelvin “Malaza” Mutale , Timothy ‘Teacher’ Mwitwa , Numba Mwila, Richard Mwanza , Samuel Chomba, Moses Masuwa, Kenan Simambe , Godfrey Kangwa , Winter Mumba, and Patrick “Bomber” Banda.

The five crew members were Colonel Fenton Mhone (pilot), Lt Colonel Victor Mubanga (pilot), Lt Colonel James Sachika (pilot), Warrant Officer Edward Nambote (fitter) and Corporal Tomson Sakala (steward).

According to Gabonese aviation sources, the crash was caused by engine failure. The aircraft, a Buffalo plunged into sea just before01:00 hours [28th April 1993] Zambian time on its way to Abidjan, Ivory Coast where the national team was scheduled to spend a night.

The was scheduled to play in the final qualifying round of the World Cup series against Senegal this weekend.

By press time, last night 24 bodies out of 30 people on board had been recovered.

In Lusaka a spokesperson for the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development confirmed the traffic accident.

Sports Minister Dipak Patel and Foreign Minister Vernon Mwanga will lead a team to Gabon to bring back the bodies of the dead and get more information on the accident.

Government has CHARTERED a Zambia Airways plane to carry the team which includes investigators from the air force and the department of civil aviation and some medical personel .

This is the third major accident involving a ZAF a plane. In 1982, a plane crashed at the Lusaka International Airport in full view of a large crowd welcoming Tanzanian President Dr Julius Nyirere killing three people.

In February, 1990, all 28 people aboard a ZAF plane from Mbala to Lusaka perished  when it crashed in Ngwerere, 28km  north of Lusaka.

Zambian Airways plane which was dispatched to Gabon