Titan tragedy | 'Excited like a little child': Christine recalls final moments with kin

Christine Dawood initially did not think anything was seriously wrong when she learnt that communications were lost with the submersible carrying her husband and son to view the Titanic wreckage.

Indeed, Dawood said she had loads of hope during the international search for the Titan, noting “it was the only thing that got us through” what turned out to be a monumental tragedy. “There were so many actions on the sub that people can do in order to surface,” she said of believing the five men in the water may survive. “It was like a rollercoaster, more like a wave … We kept looking at the surface.”

Dawood finally lost hope when they passed the 96-hour mark, sending a message to her family that she was preparing for the worst. Her 17-year-old daughter Alina, however, still remained hopeful until a call came from the US Coast Guard about finding debris from the Titan.

Also read: What caused submersible Titan’s implosion? Investigation begins

Colossal loss

The Titan lost contact with the ship an hour and 45 minutes into its voyage, Dawood told the BBC on Monday. It would be four more days before she would learn the fate of her husband Shahzada Dawood and son Suleman when it was announced on Thursday that the vessel carrying five people had imploded and there were no survivors.

“We all thought they are just going to come up,” she said. That shock was delayed about 10 hours or so. “There was a time … where they were supposed to be up on the surface. When that time passed, that is when the … worry and not so good feelings started.”

Before the launch, she recalled how she was laughing and joking with her husband and son. She was very happy for them because her husband and son had wanted to go down to the Titanic for a long time. An earlier trip in which she would have joined was cancelled due to the pandemic. “Shahzada was so excited to go down. He was like a little child,” Dawood said.

Also read: Titan implosion: Knew this was going to happen; was in good hands, say passengers

Rubik’s Cube

Her son, Suleman Dawood, had an unusual goal in addition to seeing the Titanic wreckage. He wanted to solve the Rubik’s Cube at 3,700 metres below sea at the Titanic, she said, noting that they were planning to film it.

The US Coast Guard announced on Thursday that debris from the submersible had been found roughly 1,600 feet (488 metres) from the Titanic shipwreck on the ocean floor. The debris was located about 12,500 feet underwater. Investigators from four countries are working closely together on the probe of the June 18 event.

Along with Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood, those killed on the vessel were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who piloted the Titan, British adventurer Hamish Harding and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet. A funeral prayer service was held on Monday in Karachi for Shahzada Dawood, who hailed from Pakistan, and Suleman Dawood.

(With agency inputs)