Indian-origin woman's final moments before dying on plane in Australia: 'She kept staring at parents' photo on phone'

Just before her flight's takeoff in Australia, a woman of Indian origin died on a Qantas flight. On June 20, Manpreet Kaur, 24, was getting ready to take off from Melbourne to Delhi for the first time in four years. However, not long after boarding the aircraft at Tullamarine Airport, Kaur experienced a medical incident and passed away due to tuberculosis, as per reports.

After Kaur got on the plane, Ravinder Singh, a retired Army officer who was visiting family in Australia, saw her for the first time as he was settling into his seat. He recounted his experience with Kaur and shared it with NewsAU.

"I was sitting next to her on the Qantas flight from Melbourne to Delhi and was actually the last person to talk to her. When I boarded the plane, she was already seated in the aisle. I was in the window, so I asked if she could please get up so I could occupy my seat. I noticed that she began scrolling through photos on her mobile phone and stopped at a photograph of an elderly couple. I asked if they were her parents. She smiled and nodded and kept staring at it," Singh told NewsAU. (Also Read: Dead man at internet cafe goes unnoticed for 30 hours, investigation underway)

When the plane was ready to takeoff, he noticed that Kaur had placed her head on the seat in front and set down her phone. At that moment, he realised something was off.

‘Her head just moved towards me’

Singh said, "She was wearing her seatbelt and leaned forward to rest her head on the seat in front. As the plane was preparing for takeoff, I wanted to alert her to sit upright. But the plane jerked and I expected her to wake up. But instead, her head just moved towards me. I got the attention of a flight attention and told her that this woman does not seem very well. She checked her pulse and after that, the reaction of the cabin crew was very commendable. They tried their best to revive her. She was then evacuated by medical staff."

He also mentioned that the incident still "haunts him" and his "heart breaks for her family who would have been looking forward to seeing her after a long time."