Shahzada Dawood (right) with her son Suleman.
© APA/AFP/DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/SOURCE
In an interview, his aunt revealed that he had expressed his concerns beforehand. He finally made the trip because of Father’s Day.
More and more details about the accident Submersible tourist “Titan” now came to light. In an interview with the North American TV channel NBC News, the older sister of the Pakistani businessman spoke Shahzada Dawood, Azmehof his nephew’s concerns Suleman. The billionaire’s 19-year-old son told a relative before the dive that he was uncomfortable and scared exploring the Titanic wreck.
In the end, the student boarded the OceanGate submersible. The fact that the trip fell on Father’s Day weekend would have been the deciding factor. Suleman Dawood wanted to please his father, who had developed a passion for exploring the wreck of the Titanic.
➤ Read more: These passengers were on board the “Titan”
“I imagined Suleman, who was just 19 years old, panting … It was overwhelming,” Azmeh Dawood said in a telephone interview from his home in Amsterdam. She was shocked when OceanGate confirmed that all five passengers on board were dead. The US Coast Guard said debris in the search area indicated a “catastrophic implosion”.
➤ Read more: US Coast Guard assumes death of “Titan” crew member
“I still can’t believe it,” said Azmeh Dawood between sobs. “It’s an unrealistic situation.” The last four days had been very torturous for her. She had followed television coverage of the search for “Titan”, desperately hoping for news about her brother and nephew – and fearing the worst.
“I feel like I’m in a bad movie with a countdown where you don’t know what you’re going to do,” she said. “Personally, I find it hard to breathe when I think about her.”
Azmeh and Shahzada are descendants of one of Pakistan’s most prominent corporate dynasties. The family business empire, Dawood Hercules Corp., is involved in agriculture, healthcare and other industries.
Shahzada was vice president of the Karachi-based Engro Corporation and a consultant to the Prince’s Trust International, one of Kings Charles III. established charity.
More stories about the missing submarine
“He was my younger brother”
In recent years, Azmeh has severed ties with Shahzada. In 2014, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which “confined her to a wheelchair”. She and her husband decided to move from England to Amsterdam so she could have easier access to medical cannabis.
But some of his family members, including Shahzada, disapproved of his marijuana use. The contact became less and less. She said she continues to feel close to Suleman, a young man she described as completely kind.
But when it was announced on Thursday that both men were dead, Azmeh was reminded of the great love he felt for his brother. “He was my little brother,” she said, crying, apparently overcome by her feelings. “I held him when he was born.”
I loved the Titanic
Azmeh Dawood recalled how his brother was “absolutely obsessed” with the Titanic from an early age. As children in Pakistan, the Dawood brothers watched the movie “A Night to Remember” all the time. The 1958 British drama is about the sinking of the cruise ship.
She said that when Shahzada met her husband, he asked if they could sit down and watch a four-hour documentary about the Titanic. The businessman also loved visiting museum exhibits with artifacts recovered from the wreckage.
So Azmeh Dawood wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that her brother had bought tickets for the OceanGate mission. She would never do such a thing, she explained: “If you had given me a million dollars,” she said, “I would not have boarded the Titan.”
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