A young woman from Melbourne tragically lost her life on an international Qantas flight, leaving her dreams of becoming a chef unfulfilled.
Manpreet Kaur, 24, had boarded the flight from Melbourne to Delhi on June 20, eager to reunite with her family after four long years. Sadly, she never got the chance. A close friend reported that Manpreet "felt unwell" hours before arriving at the airport but still managed to board without any apparent problems.
As she attempted to fasten her seatbelt, she suddenly collapsed and "died on the spot." The flight was still at the gate in Melbourne when the cabin crew and emergency services rushed to assist her. "When she got on the plane, she was struggling to put her seatbelt on," her friend Gurdip Grewal told the Herald Sun. "Just before her flight started, she fell in front of her seat and died on the spot."
The Herald Sun suggests that Manpreet's untimely death was likely due to tuberculosis, a serious infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs. Her roommate, Kuldeep, shared that Manpreet had been balancing her studies in cookery with a job at Australia Post, all while nurturing her aspirations of becoming a chef. "She was kind and honest," Kuldeep reflected. "She loved to travel with her friends around Victoria."
Manpreet had been looking forward to finally returning to India to see her parents, marking her first trip home since moving to Australia in March 2020.
In the wake of this tragedy, a GoFundMe page has been set up to support her family. $31,372 has been raised at the time of writing.
The GoFundMe's description reads: "Hi, my name is Gurdip Grewal and I’m fundraising for Manpreet Kaur. She was student from my village and going to home. She died in a plane during take off at Melbourne Airport. Our dear friend Manpreet left us too soon, leaving a void in our lives that can never be filled. As we grieve her passing, we want to come together to honor her memory and support her family in their time of need. As we say our final goodbyes, every contribution, big or small, brings us closer to our goal. Your support means the world to us and Manpreet’s family.”
A Qantas spokesperson expressed their condolences to news.com.au, stating, "Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones."
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