By now, you are all aware of the tragedy that unfolded when Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps earlier this week. What you didn't know is that another tragedy almost took place. Swedish football team Dalkurd FF was supposed to be on that flight, but a long layover in Düsseldorf convinced players to switch their flight plans to take 3 other flights that left at approximately the same time and flew over the Alps as well. It turns out, this last minute decision saved the lives of players on Dalkurd FF.
“We were actually all due to fly on that plane,” said Adil Kizil, the team’s director. “Four aircraft left at around the same time and flew north over the Alps, and we had players on three of them. You could say we were very, very lucky. You could say it is destiny.”
The team decided “split up and fly via Munich and Zurich.” The layover in Düsseldorf lasted 10 hours.
Team members were shocked when they heard what happen. A lot of people thought it was them who had died in the crash.
Striker Erik Törnros heard about the crash when he landed in Zurich. “Damn, I was jittery,” he said. Other team members assumed he was dead. “They thought it was us who had crashed, because we had said we would leave at nine. Completely crazy.”
The shock of the plane crash still hasn't hit home yet for the Swedish team as evident in this interview on CNN with Frank Pettersson of Dalkurd FF:
Even though they are alive, surviving may be the most difficult thing they'll have to face.
