The skies are often considered a bridge between the far corners of the world, a place where joyous reunions and exciting adventures begin.

However, for one young woman, a journey through these skies turned into a heartbreaking final voyage.

The tragic death of Manpreet Kaur, a 24-year-old student with aspirations of becoming a chef, has left a community in mourning and raised questions about the unforeseen risks of air travel.

Manpreet Kaur, a young woman from Melbourne, eagerly anticipated her 20 June flight on Qantas from Melbourne to Delhi.

The trip was meant to end her four-year separation from her family, a reunion she had long awaited and deeply yearned for.

Tragically, she never made it to her destination.

Manpreet Kaur was about to visit her family when she had a tragic death. Credit: Shutterstock

According to a close friend, Manpreet ‘felt unwell’ in the hours before her flight but managed to board the plane without incident.

The situation took a sudden and devastating turn when, in the process of fastening her seatbelt, Manpreet collapsed to the floor.

Despite being at the gate and having immediate assistance from cabin crew and emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gurdip Grewal, a friend of Manpreet, recounted the harrowing moments, saying, 'When she got on the plane, she was struggling to put her seatbelt on. Just before her flight started, she fell in front of her seat and died on the spot.'

The cause of death is understood to be tuberculosis, a serious infectious disease primarily affecting the lungs, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Manpreet's story is one of dreams and determination. While studying cookery, she worked at Australia Post, nurturing her passion for culinary arts with the hope of one day donning the chef's hat.

Described by her roommate, Kuldeep, as 'kind and honest’, Manpreet was also known for her love of exploring Victoria with her friends.

Her journey to India was not just a homecoming but a chance to reconnect with her roots and the family she had not seen since her move to Australia in March 2020.

A GoFundMe page was set up to support her grieving family.

'Our dear friend Manpreet left us too soon, leaving a void in our lives that can never be filled,’ the page read.

As we grieve her passing, we want to come together to honour 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 has extended their condolences, stating, 'Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.'

Key Takeaways

• A young woman named Manpreet Kaur tragically died on a Qantas international flight from Melbourne to Delhi.
• Before boarding the flight, the 24-year-old student reportedly felt unwell but did not expect it to be serious.
• Ms Kaur likely died of tuberculosis; she collapsed and passed away before the flight departed from the gate.
• A GoFundMe page has been established to support Ms Kaur's family, while Qantas has expressed condolences to her loved ones.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the bereaved family of Manpreet Kaur.

May she rest in peace.

 

[novezar]

W

 

[Soothe]

Rest in peace gone to soon

 

[novezar]

What a tragic occurrence for this young lady. It certainly enforces the cliche, "Live Life To The Fullest Whist You Can, &, Don't Put Off Tomorrow What You Can Do Today". You just don't know what beholds you around the corner & the very immediate future.

 

[IAN3005]

They are bringing in these diseases that were stamped out.....

 

[Wyngaard]

I wonder if the 'carrot' had anything to do with this tragic event.

 

[MaggieMay1948]

How/where did she contract TB? If it is TB, did she know? How many people may she have infected? Surely this is extremely concerning.

 

[Wyngaard]

I bet my bottom dollar that the TB story is a load of BS to cover up something they would like to hide! We all know what that is.

 

[MarieT]

So very sad R.I.P. Manpreet

 

[IAN3005]

What a tragic occurrence for this young lady. It certainly enforces the cliche, "Live Life To The Fullest Whist You Can, &, Don't Put Off Tomorrow What You Can Do Today". You just don't know what beholds you around the corner & the very immediate future.

Tubercolosis is some

 

[IAN3005]

This should have been diagnosed before she got onto the plane..... slack or non-existent screening.
To die from it requires years of incubation:
Primary TB infection

Latent TB infection

Active TB disease - Active TB disease may happen right after primary infection. But it usually happens after months or years of latent TB infection.

Active TB disease outside the lungs - Common sites of active TB disease outside the lungs include:

• Kidneys.
• Liver.
• The fluid surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
• Heart muscles.
• Genitals.
• Lymph nodes.
• Bones and joints.
• Skin.
• Walls of blood vessels.
• The voice box is also called the larynx.

You die......

 

[Jo Piper3]

Rest in eternal peace - way too young to die. May her family be comforted.

 

[Marilynne]

They are bringing in these diseases that were stamped out.....

This disease has never been stamped out, when my daughter travelled to Europe {Belgium} as an exchange student, for a year she had to have TB vaccine before she left. This young woman had been in Australia for 4 years I wonder why it rear ugly head beforehand.

 

[Dee3141]

The world's largest cause of death from communicable diseases, tuberculosis, had been almost stamped out in Australia. 25% of the world's TB sufferers are in India. The majority of Australians with TB are migrants. Australia's Indian population is our second largest migrant group. I am very much in favour of migration but surely there is a way to check medically migrants coming here, particularly from countries with high levels of communicable diseases. This young woman's tragic death need not go in vain. It should be a wakeup call to our government.

 

[MotherGoose]

They are bringing in these diseases that were stamped out.....

Tuberculosis has never been "stamped out". Only two diseases have ever been eradicated - smallpox (in humans) and rinderpest (in cattle), and that's because of vaccination. The reduced incidence of tuberculosis and many other diseases is also because of vaccination.

 

[MotherGoose]

How/where did she contract TB? If it is TB, did she know? How many people may she have infected? Surely this is extremely concerning.

Thankfully, tuberculosis is not highly contagious and you usually only get it from repeated exposure to an infected person. Typically it occurs when people live in overcrowded housing conditions. The fellow passengers should be okay as their exposure was brief and a "one-off" encounter. It is her fellow students, housemates and APO workers who are at risk. However, visa applicants (immigrant and student visas) to Australia are screened for TB via chest x-ray as a visa requirement. Did this one somehow bypass that system? You may think this is unlikely but it isn't. When I lived in California (which had the same visa requirement), I worked for a heart and lung doctor and we had cases of patients with tuberculosis who had been able to enter the US because they had someone else take their chest x-ray in their country of origin. However, there isn't any way of telling whether she was originally infected here or in India.

 

[MotherGoose]

The world's largest cause of death from communicable diseases, tuberculosis, had been almost stamped out in Australia. 25% of the world's TB sufferers are in India. The majority of Australians with TB are migrants. Australia's Indian population is our second largest migrant group. I am very much in favour of migration but surely there is a way to check medically migrants coming here, particularly from countries with high levels of communicable diseases. This young woman's tragic death need not go in vain. It should be a wakeup call to our government.

 

[MotherGoose]

Immigrants and people on visas such as student visas are screened for this as a visa requirement. However, there are ways of getting around this in foreign countries.

 

[Whitsun]

How/where did she contract TB? If it is TB, did she know? How many people may she have infected? Surely this is extremely concerning.

Surely she must have had symptoms, I am old enough to remember how many died of TB, I have since met relatives in UK who had TB in their youth. I remember the sanitorium in the Blue Mountains in the 1950s. It is a very contagious disease. I hope they check people around her if it proves to be TB.

 

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May the young beautiful soul rest in peace A life taken away so quickly
prayers for the grieving family and loved ones