The five people who lost their lives on the Titanic submersible Titan probably spent their last minutes listening to their favourite music, in total darkness – hoping to see strange bioluminescent creatures in the deep ocean around them.
That’s the view of Christine Dawood, whose husband Shahzada and son Suleman were among the five people who lost their lives during the ill-fated expedition. Heartbreakingly Christine also revealed how her loved ones very nearly missed out on the trip.
And she explained how the original plan had been for her to join Shahzada on the submersible, rather than their son – after she spotted an advertisement for OceanGate’s Titanic trips. However, Christine and her 17-year-old daughter, Alina, joined Shahzada and Suleman, 19, onboard the Titan’s mothership the Polar Prince.
And they both watched their loved ones enter the 22-foot submersible with OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush, 61, Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58 – and then disappear into the Atlantic Ocean, forever.
The tragedy was the culmination of an 11-year obsession with the shipwreck, sparked by a visit to a Titanic exhibit in Singapore, in 2012. The family’s interest was further fired in 2019 by a trip to Greenland, where they were fascinated by icebergs – the Ocean hazard that caused the Titanic’s demise.
It was after this that Christine came across an OceanGate ad offering trips to view the wreckage. She told a US newspaper that the original plan had been for her to accompany Shahzada in the submersible, because Suleman was too young.
However, the Covid pandemic postponed their plans. By the time the plan was back on, their son was old enough to join his dad on the Titan for the Father’s Day expedition.
However, the family almost missed the trip, because their flight was cancelled and its replacement was delayed. Christine told the New York Times: “We were actually quite worried, like, ‘Oh, my god, what if they cancel that flight as well? In hindsight, obviously, I wish they did.”
Christine also revealed what life was like on the Polar Prince. She explained they stayed in cramped rooms with bunk beds, ate buffet food from trays, sat through 12-hour days of back-to-back meetings – and repeat screenings of James Cameron’s movie Titanic.
While that might not sound like everybody’s idea of a family holiday, Christine said her son and husband were in their element. She said that Suleman was so excited that he was “like a vibrating toddler”.
And Shahzada was “lapping everything up” and “had this big glow on his face talking about all this nerdy stuff,” said Christine.
Then, after bidding the men of their family farewell, Christine and Alina watched the Titan head off into the Atlantic Ocean.
