The wife and mom ofTitansubmersiblevictims Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood says sheheld onto hope for daysafter her loved ones went missing during a dive down to theTitanic.
Shahzada, 54, and Suleman, 19, were two offive peopleaboard the OceanGate sub on Father’s Day when itimplodedduring its journey, according to officials.
In an interview withthe BBCon Sunday, Christine Dawood revealed that she and her 17-year-old daughter Alina had joined Shahzada and Suleman on the Canadian research vesselPolar Princebefore the father and son ventured into the Atlantic.
The mother and daughter held onto hope for as long as they could. “I think I lost hope when we passed the 96 hours mark,” Christine told the BBC. That’s when she sent a heartbreaking message to members of her family.
“I said: ‘I’m preparing for the worst.’ That’s when I lost hope,” she explained.
Christine Dawood; Shahzada and son Suleman Dawood.BBC; HANDOUT/DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP via Getty Images
BBC; HANDOUT/DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP via Getty Images
Her daughter, however, remained optimistic just a little longer. “She didn’t lose hope until the call with [the] Coast Guard … when they basically informed us that they found debris,” Christine said.
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HANDOUT/DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP
“I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time,” Christine told the BBC.
Polar Prince towing Titan submersible.Alamy
Alamy
Suleman had brought a Rubik’s Cube with him, and hoped to set a world record during theTitanictrip, according to his mom. She said her son could solve the puzzle in 12 seconds.
“He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 3,700 metres below sea at the Titanic.’ " she told the BBC.
Christine said her final moments with her husband and son were enjoyable: “We just hugged and joked actually, because Shahzada was so excited to go down, he was like a little child.”
“I miss them, I really, really miss them,” she added.
Suleman’s aunt Azmeh Dawood previouslytold NBC Newsthat the teenager went on the voyage to please his dad after reportedly having shared with a relative that he"wasn’t very up for it” and felt “terrified.”
The searchfor theTitanbegan shortly after the vessel “lost all communication” with expedition vessel Polar Prince “approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes” into its dive on June 18, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at a press conference last week.
In a press conference on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that an ROV discovered debris 1,600 feet from the bough of the tailbone of theTitanicwreckage on the sea floor. The Coast Guard said that the debris they found was consistent with a “catastrophic loss of the pressure” in theTitan.
Titan submersible.EyePress News/Shutterstock
EyePress News/Shutterstock
source: people.com
