- Sunday, January 12, 2025
Suleman’s aunt Azmeh Dawood said while he was not ready about the trip, he yet went to please his father over Father’s Day weekend.
By: Shubham Ghosh
SULEMAN Dawood, the teenage son of British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, who accompanied his father on Titan, the ill-fated submersible to the Titanic wreckage, had deep reservations about the adventurous journey that went 13,000 feet underwater. All five on board the submersible, including the Dawoods, were killed in a ‘catastrophic implosion’.
Reports said citing family sources that the 19-year-old Suleman, a university student, was “hesitant” and felt “terrified” about the trip to explore the wreckage of the British luxury passenger liner that sank after hitting an iceberg 111 years ago.
TITANIC SUBMERSIBLE/SUBMARINE DESTROYED ? (still thinking they come out of nowhere)?
Victims:
1. Shahzada Dawood, Pakistani-British billionaire.
2. Suleman Dawood, his 19-year-old son.
3. Hamish Harding, UK billionaire and explorer.
4. Paul Henri Nargeolet Nargeolet, Titanic… pic.twitter.com/Fd18eULaUq— World Of History (@UmarBzv) June 22, 2023
In an interview with NBC, Suleman’s aunt Azmeh Dawood said while Suleman was not ready about the trip, he yet embarked on OceanGate’s 22-foot submersible that went into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada over the Father’s Day weekend to please his 48-year-old father, who was passionate about the iconic ship’s lore.
“Suleman Dawood, accompanying his father on the expedition, expressed hesitation about going. He wasn’t very up for it and felt terrified about the trip,” his aunt Azmeh Dawood told NBC in an interview.
The others who were killed on the Titan were Stockton Rush, the 61-year-old CEO of OceanGate; British businessman Hamish Harding, 58, and French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77.
Azmeh said she was thinking of Suleman “in there, just perhaps gasping for breath”. “It’s been crippling, to be honest,” she said in the interview. She expressed the distressful thoughts on Sunday, the day Titan lost contact with the surface less than two hours after the dive. The news of the deaths was confirmed on Thursday (22). The US Coast Guard and OceanGate Expeditions, the company behind operations of Titan, confirmed the tragedy.
Both Azmeh and Shahzada Dawood are scions of one of Pakistan’s most prominent corporate dynasties. The family’s namesake business empire — Dawood Hercules Corp — has investments in various fields such as agriculture, health sector and others.
Parts of the submersible were found on Thursday, approximately 1,600ft (487metres) from the bow of the Titanic wreck.
Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic. We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.
— Spokesperson ?? MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 22, 2023
The Pakistani foreign ministry on Friday (23) issued its condolences to the grief-stricken Dawood family and the others lost in the Titan submersible.
