A 19-year-old British student who died in a tragic Titanic submersible accident was “terrified” about the trip but joined his father to celebrate Father’s Day, his aunt has revealed.
Suleman Dawood and his father Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani businessman, were among the five passengers on board the Titan submersible, which was on a mission to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.
The submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion” at a depth of about 1,600 feet (488 metres) from the bow of the Titanic on Sunday, killing all five people instantly.
Suleman’s aunt, Azmeh Dawood, told NBC News that her nephew “wasn’t feeling up to it” but agreed to go on the expedition to please his father.
“He was terrified about it. He wasn’t feeling up to it. But he did it for his dad,” she said.
She said Suleman had just finished his first year at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and was studying business.
She described him as a “very bright” and “very kind” young man who loved travelling and sports.
She said she was devastated by the loss of her brother and nephew, who lived in Surbiton, south-west London.
“I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath… It’s been crippling, to be honest,” she said.
The other victims of the Titanic submersible tragedy were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, French Navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British billionaire Hamish Harding.
They were part of a team that was conducting a series of dives to the Titanic site as part of a scientific and educational project.
The US Coast Guard confirmed on Thursday that a debris field from the submersible was found near the Titanic by a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian ship.
The cause of the implosion is still under investigation.
