Sad news in the snowboarding community … Australian star Luke “The Dingo” Trembath has tragically passed away at the age of 38.

His cause of death is not known at this time.

Word of the loss spread on social media Thursday night … with countless friends and loved ones sharing heartbreaking reactions.

The Monster Energy athlete first started competing in snowboarding at the age of nine, according to a sit-down interview he did in 2020. He became nationally recognized by age 11 and two years later, he was traveling with Team Australian to events around the world.

After hanging the board up, he stayed active in the community, hosting a podcast called “Unleashed Podcast” for the Monster Brand.

Qatar Airways is defending its crew after they deposited a deceased passenger next to a couple for the final four hours of a flight from Melbourne, Australia to Doha, Qatar earlier this week.

As you know, the couple — Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin — claimed they were not offered new seats after a woman’s corpse was covered with a blanket and was placed in their row. Ring said he was simply asked to move over so the woman — who dropped dead near them — could occupy his seat.

In a statement obtained by TMZ, Qatar Airways says cabin crew “acted quickly, appropriately and professionally at all times in line with training and industry standard practice.”

Qatar says they have been “in direct contact with the family of the deceased” and offered passengers “directly affected” by the uncomfortable situation “emotional support and compensation.”

The airline did not respond to TMZ when asked how much guests would be compensated.

Gene Hackman’s New Mexico home is so huge, it took a while to find his body after his wife Betsy’s was found, a local fire official tells TMZ … giving us a detailed rundown of what went down when they arrived on the scene.

Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya tells TMZ paramedics responded to a “man down” call from Gene’s address Wednesday with a fire engine and an ambulance, and rushed in through the unlocked front door — with sheriff’s deputies arriving later.

Moya tells us they found Betsy right away, on the floor of a bathroom near the front door. Their team is trained to spot obvious signs of death, and it was clear Betsy had passed — so no resuscitation efforts were made.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told “TODAY” this morning the couple may have been dead for days, possibly even weeks.