A British mother of two unexpectedly passed away on a long-distance flight from Hong Kong to the UK after going into a “breathless sleep” in midair, according to a family friend.
A few hours after she, her kids, and her husband left out on August 5, Helen Rhodes was discovered unconscious in her seat.
Her friend Jayne Jeje wrote: “Despite all efforts, Helen was not able to be resuscitated. For the remaining 8 hours of the flight, Helen lay in a breathless sleep in her seat. Although this was extremely traumatising to the family, they all had time to say what they needed to say to her,”
Helen’s body was left behind in Frankfurt after arriving in Germany while her husband, Simon, and two children, Nathan and Emma, took a flight to the UK. It would have been Helen’s first trip back to the UK to visit family since the coronavirus outbreak started.
It’s unclear what caused the death. We are still in shock and disbelief,” wrote Jeje in her fundraiser post, which has so far raised more than £21,000, or around $25,400. A crew member from the flight was one of the many donors, according to The Times of London.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died on a flight to Frankfurt and are in contact with the local authorities.”
