Helen Rhodes and her family were flying from Hong Kong to the UK on August 5 when she “died in her sleep”, friends said.
“We are still in disbelief and shock at the sudden death of our dearest friend whose life has touched so many people in Hong Kong and the UK,” friend Jayne Jeje wrote in a GoFundMe post.
“Helen was found unresponsive a few hours after the flight. Despite all efforts, Eleni failed to revive.”
Jeje added: “All this unfolded in front of her children. For the remaining 8 hours of the flight, Helen slept breathlessly in her seat.”
Her husband, Simon, and young children, Nathan and Emma, are “devastated” by the “unimaginable” loss, Jetze wrote. The plane stopped in Germany where Rhodes’ body was left in Frankfurt while her family had to travel the rest of the way without her.
Helen Rhodes was flying with her husband and two children when she died in her sleep. GoFundMe
“Although this was extremely traumatic for the family, everyone had time to say what they needed to say to her,” he said.
The UK Foreign Office told the Guardian: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died on a flight to Frankfurt and are in contact with local authorities.”
Rhodes lived in Hong Kong for 15 years, but she and her family planned to return to the UK to start a “new chapter”, Jeje noted. She was a midwife by profession that Jeje described as the “pulse” of her local community in Hong Kong and “one of a kind”.
“Helen was excited and nervous about the move, but she was looking forward to seeing her family back home as she hadn’t seen her family or her elderly parents since the pandemic started,” Jetze wrote. “Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see them again.”
The fundraising page that has raised more than $21,000 as of Monday will go toward funeral expenses and additional support for her family.
