Mother dies in her sleep in front of children on flight from Hong Kong to UK

Helen Rhodes was a “devoted wife and mother”.

A British mother “died in her sleep” while flying back to the UK with her husband and children, according to a grieving friend.

Helen Rhodes and her family were flying from Hong Kong to the UK on August 5 when she passed away in mid-flight.

A few hours into the long-haul flight, Rhodes became unresponsive and could not be resuscitated.

For the remaining eight hours, Rhodes “lay in a breathless sleep in her seat”.

“Although this was extremely traumatizing to the family, they all had time to say what they needed to say to her. Needless to mention, they are devastated,” her friend Jayne Jeje said on a GoFundMe page set up to support the family.

The plane landed in Frankfurt, where Rhodes’ body remained, while her husband Simon and young children Nathan and Emma continued their travel to the UK.

Rhodes was “one of a kind” and the “pulse of her community” in Tung Chung, Hong Kong, Jeje said.

“Helen loved to talk and made friends easily. She couldn’t walk a few feet and not run into someone she knew by name.

“She was an early member of a tight knit, diverse group called Tung Chung Mums.”

More than 200 women went to Rhodes first if they “had a question concerning anything medical-related”, Jeje said.

“Helen always made herself available to help others. She was clever, witty and generous with her time.”

In a tribute towards the end of the post, Jeje added: “This fundraiser is to honour this lovely woman who was loved by so many, a dear friend who touched so many people.

“We can only hope she knew how much she meant to us, and how her void can never be filled. How this loss is so painful and surreal.”