The devastating last words of a woman who died on a Qantas flight that was about to take off have been revealed.
The family of Manpreet Kaur said her health had been rapidly deteriorating over recent month as she unknowingly suffered from tuberculosis.
The 24-year-old had been putting her seatbelt on a flight from Australia to India, where she was supposed to see her family for the first time in four years, when she suffered a medical episode.
Her cousin and roommate, Kuldeep Kaur, said she had ‘difficult talking’ and ‘no energy to do anything’ in the week before her death, reported Mail Online.
She said her cousin was intending on returning to Dharampura, India, to be with family and friends that could look after her and aid her recovery.
The last words Manpreet, who was an aspiring chef, said to her were: ‘I will come back’.
A post-mortem confirmed that she had the serious infectious bacterial disease — which led authorities to rule her body could not be transported out of Australia.
Her family in India have been forced to apply for visas to fly to the country and attend Manpreet’s funeral.
Manpreet had been working at Australia Post in the month leading up to her death and studying to become a chef.
Tuberculosis, more commonly known as TB, is a contagious bacterial infection that usually affects the lungs.
Symptoms of TB usually come on gradually, and commonly involve a persistent cough, exhaustion and tiredness, high temperature, loss of appetite, and feeling unwell.
It usually affects the lungs, but can cause symptoms in any part of the body, including the bones and nervous system.
Friend Gurdip Grewal told Daily Mail Australia her family were ‘devastated’ and experiencing ‘disbelief’ following the tragedy.
‘It has been a very tough time for everyone’, he said.
Gurdipl has raised over $41,000 on GoFundMe to support the family in just a week.
‘Our dear friend Manpreet left us too soon, leaving a void in our lives that can never be filled,’ reads the page.
‘As we grieve her passing, we want to come together to honour her memory and support her family in their time of need.’
Kuldeep said she ‘couldn’t believe it’ when she got a knock on the door from the police to inform her of her cousin’s death.
She had driven Manpreet to the airport, when she told her ‘I will come back’.
A spokesperson for Qantas, the airline she had been flying with, said their flight crew and emergency services had tried to resuscitate her.
Manpreet reportedly ‘fell in front of her seat and died on the spot’ after she had struggled to put her seatbelt on prior to takeoff.
Qantas was made aware of her tuberculosis diagnosis and have contacted the National Incident Centre Operations.
The Department of Health in Victoria, Australia, has begun limited contact tracing and have notified anyone identified as a potential risk.
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