Couple share heart-wrenching details after being forced to sit next to dead body during flight

A couple have this week branded a recent long-haul flight 'a nightmare' after claiming they were made to sit beside a deceased body for four hours.

Australian husband and wife, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, were travelling from their home-city of Melbourne to Venice, Italy, when a fellow passenger died midway through the journey.

The traveller - a woman - initially 'collapsed' during the flight, before cabin crew declared that she'd died.

As opposed to moving the passenger's corpse to a more private quarter of the Qatar Airways flight, cabin crew ended up having to sit the body in one of the economy seats, according to the couple.

And unfortunately for Ring and Colin, she was placed right beside them.

"[It] was pretty heartbreaking to watch," Ring confessed during an appearance on A Current Affair on Monday (24 February).

"They went to try and move her, they brought this chair down...and tried to wheel her up towards business class.

"But she was quite a large lady and they couldn't get her through the aisle."

Discussing how the woman's body ended up in the seat next to them, he recalled: "They said, 'Can you move over please?' and I just said, 'Yes, no problem'.

"Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in."

Despite feeling unnerved by the notion of sitting close to a dead body for several hours, the couple claimed that cabin crew instructed them to remain in their seats for the following four hours.

"There were a few spare seats I could see around us. I can't believe they told us to stay … it wasn't nice," a devastated Ring continued.

Ring was forced to sit beside the body for four hours (Nine Network Australia/A Current Affair)

The pair added that, following the incident, they weren't offered any form of support.

"They have a duty of care towards their customers as well as their staff," Ring said.

"We should be contacted to make sure — do you need some support, do you need some counseling?"

He went on to admit: "I don't really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I'm alright."

Qantas - who they booked the flight through - have since released a statement, telling PEOPLE Magazine: "The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways."

A spokesperson added that 'Colin made us aware of the incident on a Qatar Airways flight via email on Saturday afternoon [Feb. 22]', and claimed they'd been in touch with the couple.

The couple recalled the harrowing experience (Nine Network Australia/A Current Affair)

The firm also claimed to have followed up with Qatar Airways.

In a statement, a Qatar Airways spokesperson told other outlets: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight.

“We apologise for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused," the Qatar spokesperson said, adding that they 'are in the process of contacting passengers in line with our policies and procedures'.

Speaking on the show from Venice - where the couple claimed they've attempted to put the horror show behind them - Colin added: "I'm trying to make the best of a pretty hard situation, but, you know.

"We're on holiday so we're really trying to have a good time."

Tyla contacted Qantas and Qatar Airlines for comment.