An Indian-origin woman, who was on her way to visit family in India for the first time in four years, died on a Qantas flight just before takeoff in Australia. The incident happened on June 20 when 24-year-old Manpreet Kaur boarded the aircraft ready to fly from Melbourne to Delhi, news.com.au reported. However, Ms Kaur suffered a medical episode soon after boarding the plane at Tullamarine Airport. 

According to a friend, the 24-year-old student reportedly ”felt unwell” hours before arriving at the airport but managed to board the flight without any issues. But when she went to put on her seatbelt, Ms Kaur fell to the floor and ”died on the spot.”

”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,” her friend Gurdip Grewal told the Herald Sun.

A Qantas spokesman said flight crew and emergency services had attempted to provide medical assistance. It is understood that she likely died of tuberculosis

Her roommate said Ms Kaur worked at Australia Post and wanted to become a chef. The woman’s friend Mr Grewal launched a GoFundMe in a bid to raise money for her family.

”Hi, my name is Gurdip Grewal and I’m fundraising for Manpreet Kaur. She was a student from my village and going 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 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,” he wrote. 

Victoria Police are preparing a report for the coroner. A Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au that their “thoughts are with her family and loved ones”.

Singapore:

A court in SIngapore on Monday allowed an Indian-origin Singaporean woman, who was charged with organising a pro-Palestine procession without a permit, to leave the country to visit her grandparents in Kerala.

Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, 35, had organised the procession in February with two others to show support for the Palestinian cause without a permit. A permit from the authority for holding a procession is mandatory according to the law here.

Ms Parvathi, who is currently on bail, had applied for permission to go to Kerala to visit her grandparents there, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

District Judge Lorraine Ho granted the application for Ms Parvathi to leave the jurisdiction, imposing several additional conditions, including an additional bail of SGD10,000, the report said.

Ms Parvathi, along with two others, was charged on June 27 with one count of abetment of organising a public procession in a prohibited area under the Public Order Act. She was on bail of SGD 5,000.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair said Ms Parvathi did not demonstrate the urgency of the travel, but that the prosecution was not rejecting the application because the travel booking was made before the charges were tendered. He asked for additional bail of SGD 10,000, saying that a higher bail amount was sought as she was assessed to be of moderate flight risk, without adding details.

Singapore strictly regulates protests, and public demonstrations advocating causes of other countries are not allowed. The war in Gaza has been a particularly sensitive issue for the city-state that has a significant Muslim population and also maintains a close relationship with Israel.

Though the authorities have urged Singaporeans not to stage protests on the issue and instead participate in dialogues and donation drives, there has been deep concern about the war and some Singaporeans, particularly younger ones, have been vocal in expressing their views online and desiring to make themselves heard. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)