A prominent Pakistani businessman and his son are among five people aboard a small tourist submarine who went missing in an attempt to explore the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic, their group said on Tuesday.
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The submersible, owned by the company OceanGate Expeditions, began its dive on Sunday but lost contact with the surface less than two hours later, according to authorities.
Shahzada Dawood, vice chairman of conglomerate Engro, based in Karachi, southern Pakistan, and his son Suleman are on board the submersible, her family said in a statement. The submarine only has an oxygen supply for 96 hours.
SCREENSHOT/DAWOOD FOUNDATION
Shahzada Dawood, 48, and Suleman, 19, a student, are both British citizens and belong to “one of the most respected families in Pakistan,” said Dawood Hercules holding company, run by the Dawood family.
In a statement, Shahzada Dawood was described as a “loving father” of two children with a strong passion for “photography, particularly wildlife photography and exploring different natural habitats.”
“At the moment, contact with the dive boat has been lost and little information is available,” the family had previously said.
“A rescue operation, jointly led by numerous government agencies and companies operating in deep water, is underway to reconnect with the submersible and bring its occupants to safety,” the family added.
“We are grateful for the concerns of our colleagues and friends and would like to ask everyone to pray for their safety,” she added.
Engro invests in several business areas: energy, agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunications.
Shahzada’s father, Hussain Dawood, is regularly cited by the Pakistani press as one of the richest men in the country.
Shahzada’s profile on Engro’s website states that he is also a trustee of the Dawood Foundation, a charity founded in 1960 dedicated to education.
According to his profile, he continued his studies in the USA and Great Britain.
The US and Canadian Coast Guards are conducting the search in an area about 1,450 km east of Cape Cod in the northeastern US at a depth of about 4,000 m.
Among the five passengers is British businessman, aviator and space tourist Hamish Harding, 58, CEO of Dubai-based private jet sales company Action Aviation.