The man who was seated next to a 24-year-old woman who died suddenly on a plane has spoken out about how she spent her final moments.
Manpreet Kaur, 24, who was an aspiring chef studying in Melbourne, Australia, had boarded a plane headed to Delhi, India, to visit her family after not having seen them in four years.
Tragically, she never made it back to see her loved ones, as she passed away just before take-off.
Ravinder Singh, a stranger who'd been sitting next to her and was the last person to speak to Kaur, revealed how she'd spent her final moments.
Singh, who had been in Australia visiting his family, boarded the plane after Kaur - who was in the aisle seat - and began speaking to her after asking her get up for him to be able to get to his seat.
He told News.com.au: "I was sitting next to her on the Qantas flight from Melbourne to Delhi and was the last person to talk to her."
Singh revealed that he saw Kaur, who was from Dharampura in northern India, scrolling through photos on her phone as they waited for the plane to begin taxiing, and notice that she stopped on a photo of an elderly couple.
"I asked if they were her parents. She smiled and nodded and kept staring at it," he revealed.
When the plane began to move towards the runway to prepare for take-off, Singh said Kaur - who was buckled into her seat - put her phone down and leaned forward to rest her head on the seat in front of her.
He added: "As the plane was preparing for takeoff, I wanted to alert her to sit upright."
However, before Singh could alert her, the plane "jerked" and caused Kaur's head to move towards him, which is when the retired army officer realized something was seriously wrong and called for the flight crew.
He told them that she "did not seem very well" as the crew checked the young woman's pulse and tried to "revive" her.
Kaur was quickly rushed off the plane by medics, as Singh added: "The reaction of the cabin crew was very commendable."
He admitted that he remains "haunted" by having seen Kaur die next to him, but hopes that her parents will know she "left the world peacefully."
"The incident has been etched in my memory for life," he said. "It is very difficult to digest that a young girl with whom you were just interacting with has passed away in front of your eyes.
"Her innocent face still haunts me and I want her parents to know she loved them a lot.
"She left this world peacefully looking at their photograph."
He added: "My heart breaks for her family who would have been looking forward to seeing her after a long time."
A postmortem confirmed that Kaur had died from tuberculosis, an infectious disease that affects the lungs.
Her cousin and roommate confirmed that the culinary student had been battling the respiratory illness for a few months without knowing, and her health had worsened in the days before her death.
Kuldeep Kaur told the Daily Mail: "She had difficulty talking and during that last week she had no energy to do anything and was just lying in bed."
Tragically, because tuberculosis is an infectious disease, Kaur's body will not be allowed to leave Australia, so her parents have been forced to apply for visas to be able to fly there for their daughter's funeral.
A GoFundMe was set up to help her family be able to be there to lay her to rest, and has raised over $44,000 of its $30,000 target at the time of writing.
The fundraiser stated: "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."
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