A DOCTOR from Manchester has died on a flight to India.

Dr Mahendra Prasad Jaiswal, 62, suffered a heart attack above Iran while flying from Manchester to Delhi.

The Qatar Airways flight made an emergency landing in Tehran in an attempt to get Dr Jaiswal emergency aid.

But the GP, from East Didsbury, who was a fitness fanatic and had no previous medical problems, had already died.

Father-of-two Dr Jaiswal was on his way to a niece's wedding in Varanasi, India, when he fell ill. He was due to give away the bride and described as `very excited' at the prospect.

Dr Jaiswal, who had run his own practice in Corkland Road, Chorlton, for 22 years, leaves wife Mariamma, son Sujoy, 29, and daughter Sipra, 27, who is also training to become a GP.

He died on Wednesday of last week. A post-mortem examination four days later confirmed he had died of a heart attack.

His body was flown from Tehran to Manchester on Wednesday night.

Funeral arrangements are being arranged with the Co-Op funeral parlour in Chorlton.

Family, friends and members of the medical profession expressed their shock at the death of a man regarded as one of the finest doctors in Manchester.

His son Sujoy, himself a doctor, has just started work alongside his father at the Jaiswal/Curran surgery.

He said: "My father's death is a massive shock to us all. He was our world, someone we idolised.

"It was his inspiration which allowed us to excel at school and university, becoming the people we are today.

"Both my sister and I feel very honoured to have followed him into his noble profession. He was always a supportive father, a role model and someone we will always miss."

Dr Jaiswal's wife Mariamma said: "He was a great man - a loving family man." Daughter-in-law Archana Jaiswal said: "He was very much a man of the community, always thinking of others and doing honourable things for complete strangers. Many of his patients considered him part of their family. He knew them all - their children, their grandchildren."

Shahnuz Chaudrey, practice manager at the Jaswail/Curran surgery, choked back tears as she said: "We don't feel like carrying on without Dr Jaiswal - he was such a wonderful man."

Dr Satya Chatterjee, president of the Overseas Doctors Association (ODA), of which Mr Jaiswal was a member, said: "He was a delightful person, a good doctor and a great neighbour to his friends.

"He was very popular among both Indian and English people and he never, ever distinguished between them.

"We've lost a great friend and a great man. He always helped anybody who came to him."

Hindu Dr Jaiswal, a regular at the Britannia Country Hotel fitness-and-health studio in West Didsbury, worshipped at the Gita Bhavan Temple in Whalley Range.

Temple spokesman Ashit Sinha said: "This is very sad for the whole community. He provided a great service to it and was a very jolly man. He was a great man."

A Qatar Airways spokesman said: "A 62-year-old man passed away on flight QR042 from Manchester to Delhi."