A traveler reported the shock he felt after the crew of the plane cabin made him sit next to the body of a passenger who had died during the flight.
The passenger passed out in the corridor next to Mitchell Ring and her partner Jennifer Colin during the Qatar flight Airways from Melbourne to Doha, they reported to the affiliate of CNN Nine Network. The Australian couple was on their way to Venice for vacation.
Ring recalled that he watched the crew try to revive the woman.
“Unfortunately, you couldn’t be saved, which was very painful to watch,” he commented to Nine.
The crew then tried to push the body into the line section, but could not maneuver it through the narrow corridor, Ring said.
“So they looked a little frustrated and so they just looked at me and saw that there were seats available by my side… And they just told me, ‘Can you move, please?’” He said. “And I just said, ‘yes, no problem,’ and then they put the lady in the chair I was in.”
Ring then sat next to his body for the remaining four hours of the flight, he reported, although there are other empty seats on the plane.
Another passenger offered Jennifer Colin an empty seat on the other side of the partner Ring corridor, where she sat down the rest of the flight.
“I was really shocked,” Colin told Nine, calling the “traumatic” experience.
“We totally understand that we cannot hold the airline responsible for the death of the poor lady, but there has to be a protocol to take care of customers on board,” she said.
THE CNN contacted Qatar Airways to comment.
After the flight landed, Ring said the passengers in his area were instructed to stand still until the paramedics and police arrived to remove the body.
“I can’t believe they told us to stay,” he reported, adding that he was present when the ambulance police pulled the blanket.
The couple said they were not immediately contacted by the airline who, according to them, has “a duty of care.”
Ring expressed that he expected the airline to offer some kind of support or counseling.
Qantas Airways, a company through which the couple bought their tickets, said they were in contact with Colin and followed up with Qatar Airways.
“The process for dealing with incidents aboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operator airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ring and Colin are trying to sue the tragedy.
“I really don’t know how I feel,” Ring said. “And I would like … to talk to someone and make sure I’m fine.”
This content was originally published in Woman dies in flight to Qatar and is placed next to passenger on the website CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
