Melbourne/Doha - A woman dies unexpectedly on a flight from Australia to Qatar. Instead of clearing away the body, it is then placed next to a couple. The incident leaves the passengers "traumatized", according to their own statements.

Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were initially in good spirits when they boarded the Qatar Airlines plane in Melbourne . The couple had been on their way to Italy for a vacation.

Their anticipation was dashed when a woman suddenly collapsed next to them during the flight. The passenger had been in the toilet and was on her way back to her seat when, for reasons as yet unexplained, she fell to the ground lifeless in front of Mitchell and Jennifer.

According to Yahoo News , the cabin crew desperately tried to revive the woman, but the passenger died high above the clouds.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the crew decided to place the dead woman in the Australian couple's row of seats.

They were instructed to move "to the side" and then lifted the body onto Mitchell's seat. "They tried to wheel her into business class , but she was quite a big lady," the Australian recalls in an interview with "A Current Affair".

While Jennifer, who was already suffering from a fear of flying, was assigned a different seat, Mitchell had to spend the next few hours sitting next to the body covered in blankets.

After around four hours, the plane finally landed in Qatar. While the other passengers were allowed to disembark, Mitchell was told to remain in his seat until rescuers and police entered the plane. "I couldn't believe it when they told us to stay," says Mitchell. He then had to watch as the dead woman was covered up. "I was there and could see her face."

The airline is said not to have taken care of the couple after the incident. Mitchell and Jennifer accuse "Qatar" of neglecting its duty of care. The two passengers were "traumatized" by the flight and therefore needed professional help.

According to Yahoo News, the airline has since contacted the Australians.