On the 27th of April in 1993, a talented Zambian squad on its way to Dakar, Senegal to play a world cup qualifier match, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after shortly taking off from Libreville, Gabon. All the twenty-five squad members passed on, including the flight crew. As we remember the amazing Chipolopolo side, we look at some of the Zambians paying tribute to the fallen footballing heroes.

The Zambian captain, Kalusha Bwalya, who is a survivor of the 1993 national team set up after he had made separate arrangements to join the team in Dakar from his club, PSV Eindhoven, paid his respects on Twitter:

“Today I decided to go give homage to my fallen teammates a day earlier. A day does not go by that I don’t think about my family that I lost off the coast of Gabon in 1993. 25 years later my heart is still broken. A team that could have gone so far.” - Kalusha Bwalya

The former Chipolopolo captain who led the team to a historic and emotional 2012 AFCON title triumph, Christopher Katongo has also paid his respects encouraged the country to do more for the families of those who tragically passed on in the accident.

"We have to remember in a way that the family actually has to feel it. We are not doing enough for the family to really feel we had a hero.” - Christopher Katongo

Speaking about the country’s state at the time of the accident, Katongo added:

"The whole country was quiet. Nobody was shouting, it was only whispering. I had never seen the country quite like that. No one was listening to music, everybody was listening to the radio and every hour there was news of the crash." - Christopher Katongo

To the 1993 Copper bullets side, we remember!