A young woman who died in her plane seat as her flight prepared to take off from Melbourne spent her final moments looking at a photograph of her parents on her phone.
Aspiring chef Manpreet Kaur, 24, was flying back to Delhi, India, on June 20 to visit her parents for the first time in four years after moving to Australia.
She suffered a medical episode while fastening her seatbelt and the plane returned to the gate where cabin crew and paramedics attempted to revive her without success.
Her cousin and roommate in Melbourne, Kuldeep Kaur, told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Kaur’s health had deteriorated in recent months because she was unknowingly suffering from tuberculosis, and that she was travelling back so her family could help her recover.
Post-mortem confirmation of the respiratory infection means her body cannot be transported out of the country and her family is in the process of arranging travel to Australia to say goodbye.
The passenger sitting next to Ms Kaur has now spoken out, describing the minutes between boarding the plane and her medical episode, in the hope this will bring some comfort to the family.
“It’s very difficult to digest that a young girl you were interacting with has passed away in front of your eyes,” retired army officer Ravinder Singh told news.com.au on Thursday.
“Her innocent face still haunts me and I want her parents to know that she loved them very much. She left this world in peace looking at her photograph.”
The family of aspiring chef Manpreet Kaur, 24, (pictured), are applying for visas to Australia to attend her funeral after attempts to repatriate her body were unsuccessful.
Ms Kaur died suddenly on a plane bound for India at Tullamarine Airport to join her family after unwittingly battling tuberculosis for months.
Mr Singh said that when he boarded the flight, Ms Kaur was already sitting in the aisle and he politely asked her to stand up so he could reach his window seat.
Shortly after, she said, the young woman began looking at photos on her phone but stopped on one of an elderly couple.
He asked her if they were her parents and she said yes.
The plane then taxied to the runway and Ms Kaur put down her phone, put on her seatbelt and rested her head on the seat in front of her.
Mr Singh said he wanted to tell the girl to be careful not to hit her head during take-off, but felt it was not her place to do so.
However, as the plane shook as it approached the runway, he realised something was wrong when Kaur slumped into the middle seat.
This caught the attention of the cabin crew, who checked his pulse and immediately turned the plane around.
Mr Singh said he was impressed by the cabin crew who he said acted professionally in a difficult situation.
Retired army officer Ravinder Singh (pictured) sat next to Ms Kaur and said she died peacefully looking at a photograph of her parents on her phone.
The young woman’s health had deteriorated in the months before her death, but she was expected to recover and return to Australia on July 25 (pictured, Ms Kaur)
Ms Kaur’s family are in the process of applying for visas to be able to fly to Australia to attend Ms Kaur’s funeral.
A friend of Ms Kaur, Gurdip Grewal, said the family was “devastated… (and) experiencing a mixture of shock, grief and disbelief”.
“It’s been a very difficult time for everyone,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
Ms Kaur had been studying to become a chef since moving to Australia, but had been working at Australia Post in the month before her death.
His cousin said he “couldn’t believe it” when a police officer knocked on his door to tell him about the death of his “honest and kind” cousin.
“I took her to the airport that morning and she said, ‘I’ll be back,'” Kuldeep said.
Ms Kaur had booked a flight back to Australia on July 25 hoping to have recovered from her illness.
TO GoFundMe The project launched by Mr Grewal to support the Kaur family has raised more than $41,000 in just over a week.
“Our dear friend Manpreet left us too soon, leaving a void in our lives that can never be filled,” the fundraising page reads.
“As we mourn his passing, we want to join together to honor his memory and support his family in this time of need.”
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: “Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
Victoria Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
The airline learned of Ms Kaur’s tuberculosis diagnosis on Monday and contacted the National Incident Operations Centre for further information.
Victoria’s Department of Health said it had begun limited contact tracing the following day and anyone identified as a potential risk would be notified.
