Buffet-style meals, watching 'Titanic' and more: How Titan submersible passengers spent final days
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Jul 3, 2023, 1:13 PM ISTIn an interview with New York Times, Christine, wife of Pakistan billionaire Shahzada Dawood, also admitted that technical aspects of the Titanic submersible's engineering eluded their understanding. Suleman Dawood, her 19-year-old son, too lost his life in the incident.
Days after OceanGate's Titan submersible tragedy, details of the final days of the passengers have emerged. According to The New York Times, the five passengers who tragically lost their lives after the submersible, which was on a Titanic wreckage expedition, imploded likely experienced their final moments in darkness, surrounded by eerie bioluminescent creatures while listening to their favourite music.
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Among the passengers was Shahzada Dawood, a billionaire from Pakistan, and his son Suleman, who were both excited about the trip to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, lying more than four kilometers below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Their fascination with the Titanic began in 2012 when they visited an exhibition in Singapore and grew even stronger during a trip to Greenland in 2019, where they encountered the same perilous icebergs that had caused the Titanic's demise.
Initially, Shahzada Dawood's wife, Christine Dawood, was meant to join him on the trip, but due to pandemic-related delays, their son took her place. Despite uncertainties with flight cancellations and delays, the family eventually boarded the Polar Prince in Newfoundland, the departure point of the mother ship, in time for the journey.
"We were actually quite worried, like, 'Oh, my god, what if they cancel that flight as well?'" Christine told NYT. "In hindsight, obviously, I wish they did," added the woman who was on the ship above along with her daughter.
The passengers, including Shahzada, Suleman, OceanGate's founder and CEO Stockton Rush, Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British billionaire Hamish Harding, entered the 22-foot sub and began their descent into the depths of the ocean. The family had paid $250,000 each for this unique experience.
"He was like a vibrating toddler," Christine told the Times of her son's excitement just before he set off on the sub.
Bunk beds, buffet-style meals, back-to-back meetings, and sporadic showings of the movie "Titanic" were all things the passengers had to put up with. Christine acknowledged that they didn't fully understand parts of the engineering on the sub, likening it to flying without fully understanding how the engine operated.
Christine emphasised that OceanGate's "well-oiled operation" gave the passengers confidence. Dietary suggestions, tips on how to dress for the cold weather and cautions against moisture building up on the sub's floor were all part of the preparations.
The passengers aboard the Titan were informed that while the sub's lights would be off to conserve battery life, they might see the fascinating sight of bioluminescent sea life as they began their voyage into the ocean's depths. For the roughly four-hour journey, they were urged to add their preferred tunes to the sub's music player. Country music, however, was expressly forbidden.
Despite Shahzada's complaints about the equipment, the family remained enthusiastic throughout the preparations. Christine and her daughter watched the sub disappear into the vast Atlantic, moving slowly with no sense of motion. When communication with the sub was lost within two hours of the descent, Christine was informed that such glitches were not uncommon, and there was hope to reestablish contact within an hour, after which the sub would ascend to the surface.
Tragically, the wreckage of the sub was discovered on June 22, putting an end to this ill-fated expedition. The loss of the five passengers left behind grief and unanswered questions about the events that unfolded during their underwater journey.
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