The mother of the teenager who died with his multi-millionaire father in the Titan submarine disaster has revealed she originally intended to make the doomed journey – but gave up her place to her son because he was “really wanted to join”.
Christine Dawood and her husband Shahzada Dawood initially booked a trip to the Titanic wreck for themselves but had to cancel due to the pandemic.
She said that when her family reserved spots for this year’s OceanGate Expeditions mission, she “resigned” because her 19-year-old son Suleman loved being there.
The family boarded the Polar Prince, the submarine’s supply ship, on Father’s Day in hopes of the trip of a lifetime. Ms Dawood and her 17-year-old daughter Alina were still on board when it was announced on June 18 that communications with Titan had been lost.
She and her daughter initially had hope after initially not returning – but admitted she had “lost hope” when 96 hours had passed since her husband and son boarded the submersible, suggesting that they ran out of oxygen.
Her daughter held out a little longer, she said, until a call was made to the US Coast Guard last Thursday to tell her debris had been found — something they didn’t know about at the time. Then it became clear that an implosion had taken place.
The US Navy had spotted sounds “suggesting an implosion” shortly after Titan lost contact on Sunday. However, this was deemed “not definitive” and the details were not released publicly – the search and rescue mission continued until debris was found.
Ms Dawood told the BBC she initially expressed hope: “We all thought they were just going to show up so the shock was delayed by like ten hours or so.”
Christine Dawood and her husband, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, initially booked a trip to the Titanic wreck for themselves but had to cancel their trip due to the coronavirus pandemic. The couple are pictured together
Christine said that when her family reserved spots for this year’s OceanGate Expeditions mission, she “resigned” because her 19-year-old son Suleman “really wanted to get involved.” She and Suleman are pictured together
“When they were supposed to be back up there was a time … when they were supposed to be back up on the surface and as that time passed the real shock came, not shock but worry and the other not good feelings, started.” .
Search for a lost submarine that has tumbled into the sinking: timeline of Titan’s disappearance
SUNDAY
- 1:00 p.m. (BST): Titan begins the dive to the wreck, departing from its support vessel, the Polar Prince, approximately 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
- 2:45 p.m.: The ship loses contact with the Polar Prince
- 10:40 p.m.: US Coast Guard alert
MONDAY
- 2 a.m.: A joint US-Canada maritime search operation is launched with the establishment of a “unified command center” on the Polar Prince
TUESDAY
- 7 p.m.: The Coast Guard announces that passengers have only 40 hours of oxygen left
WEDNESDAY
- 5:30 p.m.: The US Coast Guard confirms that a Canadian P-3 aircraft detected “underwater noise” later described as “popping”.
THURSDAY
- 12:08 p.m.: The theoretical oxygen reserves of the Titan are exhausted
- 4:48 p.m.: The US Coast Guard confirms that they have discovered debris from the submersible
“We had loads of hope, I think that was the only thing that kept us going because we were hoping and … there were so many actions people could take on that sub to surface … they would drop it.” let weights, then the ascent would be slower, we constantly looked at the surface. There was that hope.
“There were so many things that we went through where we were like, ‘Right now it’s just slow, right now it’s slow.'” But there was a lot of hope.”
She said she “lost hope” when 96 hours had passed since her husband and son boarded the submersible.
She revealed that she had sent a message to her family at the time, saying she was “prepared for the worst.”
Her daughter held out a little longer, she said, until the call to the US Coast Guard told her debris had been found.
According to the US Coast Guard, UK-based contractors Shahzada and Suleman were two of five victims who died instantly when the submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” just 1,600 feet from Titanic’s bow.
Ms Dawood revealed that she had planned to visit the Titanic wreck in the OceanGate submarine with her husband but her trip was canceled due to the Covid pandemic.
“Then I took a step back and gave them space to settle in.” [Suleman] “Get up because he really wanted to go,” she said.
“I was really happy for them because they’ve both wanted to do this for a long time.”
Ms Dawood shared how she and Alina hugged and joked with Shahzada and Suleman before the couple boarded the submersible.
Suleman, a student at Strathclyde University, had brought his Rubik’s Cube with him on the trip in hopes of breaking the world record for solving the puzzle at greatest depth, she revealed.
“He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 12,000 feet under the sea on the Titanic,'” Ms. Dawood recalled.
Her son, she said, is practical and intellectual, and wouldn’t go anywhere without his Rubik’s Cube — which he taught himself to solve in just 12 seconds.
Christine Dawood revealed that she was “really excited” that Shahzada and Suleman embarked on this journey together, adding that the teenager planned to solve the Rubik’s Cube at 12,000 feet
Suleman, (pictured) a student at Strathclyde University, had brought his Rubik’s Cube with him on the trip in hopes of breaking the world record for solving the puzzle at the greatest depth. Christine recalled, “He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 12,000 feet under the sea on the Titanic'”
“Suleman built a 10,000-piece Lego Titanic.” He was competing for a world record by trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube at the deepest point.
Although his application was denied, they still planned to film the attempt.
Ms. Dawood said she and her daughter swore to learn how to complete the Rubik’s Cube in Suleman’s honor and that she intended to continue her husband’s work.
She said: “He’s been involved in so many things, he’s helped so many people and I think Alina and I really want to carry on that legacy and give him that platform as his work goes on and that’s great for my daughter too important.”
“Alina and I said we’ll learn how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. It’s going to be a challenge for us because we’re really bad at it, but we’re going to learn.”
And the heartbroken mother tearfully said, ‘I miss her.’ I really, really miss her.’
In addition to her husband and son, three other people died aboard Titan: Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, 61, British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, a former French Navy diver and veteran Titanic diver.
Suleman Dawood, 19, was the youngest victim of the Titan submarine tragedy. He is pictured with his father, Vice Chairman of Engro Corporation Limited Shahzada Dawood
According to the US Coast Guard, OceanGate’s Titan submarine submerged about 400 miles southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland as of 8 a.m. Sunday, June 18. It lost contact at 9.45am but was not reported to the Coast Guard until 5.40pm
Ms Dawood said those afloat were trying to stay hopeful, telling themselves, “There were so many things people on that sub could do to come up…they dropped the weights, then the climb would be slower, we were constantly at it.” .” look at the surface. There was that hope.’
She and her daughter initially gave hope after initially not returning.
She said: “We all thought they were just going to show up so the shock was delayed by like ten hours or so.”
“When they were supposed to be back up, there was a time … when they were supposed to be back up on the surface and when that time was up, the real shock came, not the shock but the worry and the not so good.” Feelings started .’
Despite the bleak outlook as the hunt dragged on, she said her teenage daughter never lost hope of saving her father and older brother.
Billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, who lost his life aboard the Titan, is pictured gazing out to sea before boarding the submersible
French naval veteran PH Nargeolet (left) and Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition, also perished on Titan
Alina’s mother said of her daughter, “She’s such an incredible young woman, she’s so confident.”
“She believes in science, and she really believes, just like when you get on an airplane, that the science, the mechanics, the engineering is going to work.”
Ms Dawood, aged 96, said she tried “really hard” not to show her daughter that she had lost hope.
After it was announced on Thursday that debris from the submarine had been found, the family returned to St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada, on Saturday.
Yesterday they held a funeral prayer for Shahzada and Suleman, which Christine said had “helped”.
In a tribute to her son, she admitted that he was a “mama’s boy” but also “loved his father.”
Five people died aboard the Titan submersible after it suffered a “catastrophic implosion” 1,600 feet off the Titanic’s bow
When asked what the family’s last words were to each other, she told the BBC: “We just hugged and joked because Shahzada was so excited to go down, he was like a little kid.”
“He had this ability to generate excitement in childhood, they were both so excited.”
Ms. Dawood and her husband met at university when she did not speak English.
She recalled that the history buff knew more about the history of her native Germany than she did and that he was obsessed with documentaries.
“He let us all watch David Attenborough and the kids loved it.”
“His enthusiasm brought out the best in me and that’s how I really learned to love the story.” “He was really able to inspire and motivate others with his knowledge.”