Couple forced to sit for four hours next to dead passenger on plane

A couple say they were forced to sit for four hours next to the body of a woman who died on a flight from Australia to Qatar, NBC News and other media outlets report.

Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia to Doha, the capital of Qatar, last week. About 10 hours after the plane took off, a passenger emerged from the toilet, collapsed and died in front of them.

"They (the flight crew) did everything they could but unfortunately the lady couldn't be saved, which was quite heartbreaking to see," they told Australian news programme A Current Affair on the Nine Network.

The crew, noting the death of the passenger, then decided to place the body of the deceased on an empty seat next to the couple for the remaining four hours of the flight.

"They said, 'Can you please move?' I said, 'Yes, no problem.' Then they put the lady in the seat I was in," Mitchell Ring said.

The couple claim that the crew did not offer them a seat change for the remainder of the flight, asking them to remain seated until medical staff attended to the body upon landing. They added that Qatar Airlines did not offer them any assistance after the incident.

"We should have been contacted (by the company, editor's note) and asked if we needed support, advice," Mitchell Ring lamented.

In a statement sent to NBC News, the airline initially sent its "thoughts" to the family of the passenger who died on board their plane.

"We apologise for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused, and we are contacting passengers in accordance with our policies and procedures," the airline added.