From there, the team made its way to Senegal for the first of their World Cup qualifying games in the group stage. The team's transportation was a Zambia Airforce DHC-5D Buffalo plane. After refuelling in Libreville, the plane developed problems and plunged into the sea on 28 April 1993 killing all 30 people on board including Football Association of Zambia president Michael Mwape and airforce crew members. The entire nation was in shock and the scale of the tragedy sank in when 30 coffins holding the remains of their beloved team were flown in for a state burial. The plane crash brought an end to the career of not only Chabala but almost a whole team of talented Zambian players and coaches.