Tributes from grief-stricken relatives and friends have been pouring in after a “catastrophic implosion” killed all five passengers on board a Titanic-bound submersible at the bottom of the ocean.
A dayslong international search effort concluded Thursday after debris from the submersible – known as the Titan – was found around 1,600 feet from the historic wreckage of the Titanic.
The passengers killed were Pakastani businessman and his son, Shahzada and Suleman Dawood; British businessman Hamish Harding; French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet; and Stockton Rush, the CEO of the vessel’s operator, OceanGate Expeditions.
Families issued statements about their loved ones – who were among some of the world’s most prominent adventurers and business owners – while thanking the international community for their “immense love and support.”
Britain’s prime minister and foreign secretary also gave their condolences after it emerged that three of the five passengers were British citizens – Harding, Dawood and his son Suleman.
A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said: “His thoughts are very much with the loved ones of those who have died in this tragic incident and they have been through an unimaginably difficult ordeal in the last few days,” adding that the Foreign Office is “in touch with those families to provide support.”
James Cleverly said the UK government is closely supporting the families of the British citizens.
From left, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and Stockton.
Shahzada and Suleman Dawood
The family of businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, issued a statement announcing their deaths on Thursday night.
“It is with profound grief that we announce the passing of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood. Our beloved sons were aboard OceanGate’s Titan submersible that perished underwater,” they wrote on Twitter.
“Please continue to keep the departed souls and our family in your prayers during this difficult period of mourning.”
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The statement added, “We are truly grateful to all those involved in the rescue operations. Their untiring efforts were a source of strength for us during this time.
“We are also indebted to our friends, family, colleagues, and well-wishers from all over the world who have stood by us during our hour of need. The immense love and support we receive continues to help us to endure this unimaginable loss.”
Shahzada Dawood, pictured, and his son were British citizens from a prominent Pakistani business family.Courtesy of Engro Corporation Limited/Reuters
The family also extended their “heartfelt condolences” to the families of other passengers on the submersible.
The British Asian Trust said Friday it is “deeply saddened” by the death of its supporter and his son.
“Shahzada was a wonderful and generous man who supported our work in South Asia for many years, while his son was just emerging into adulthood with a promising future ahead,” the statement read.
The Dawood Foundation posted a photo of Shahzada and Suleman on Friday with the statement: “With heavy hearts and great sadness, we grieve the loss of our Trustee, Shahzada Dawood, and his beloved son Suleman Dawood. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dawood family at this tragic time.”
Dawood and his son were British citizens from a prominent Pakistani business family. Dawood Hercules Corp., their business, is among the largest corporations in the country, with a portfolio spanning energy, petrochemicals, fertilizers, information technology, and food and agriculture.
Dawood was also the vice-chairman of Pakistani conglomerate Engro Corporation. He was trustee of the SETI Institute in California, a research organization, and a number of other foundations.
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According to the Telegraph, Dawood lived in Surbiton, southwest London with his son, wife Christine and daughter Alina.
Hamish Harding
Also on Thursday, Dubai-based Action Aviation – the company owned by British businessman Harding – released a statement on behalf of his family.
The 58-year-old, who had an impressive list of extreme expeditions under his belt, was based in the United Arab Emirates and was a trained jet pilot.
“Today, we are united in grief with the other families who have also lost their loved ones on the Titan submersible,” the statement said, adding that Harding was a “loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons, whom he loved deeply.”
“To his team in Action Avaiation, he was a guide, an inspiration, a support, and a Living Legend.
“He was one of a kind and we adored him. He was a passionate explorer-whatever the terrain-who lived his life for his family, his business and for the next adventure.
Hamish Harding looks on before boarding the submersible Titan on June 18.Courtesy Dirty Dozen Productions
“What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved.”
years in the French Navy, where he rose to the rank of a commander, the website says.
Stockton Rush
As for Rush, the CEO of Titan’s operator, OceanGate paid tribute to him and pilot Nargeolet as “true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion of exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”
Mike Reiss, a writer of “The Simpsons,” described Rush as a “magnetic man” and “the last of the great American dreamers,” according to the New York Times.
During his life, Rush, 61, cultivated a reputation as a nature lover, adventurer and visionary.
He graduated from Princeton in 1984 and went to work for the McDonnell Douglas Corp. as a flight test engineer on the F-15 program. He obtained an MBA from University of California, Berkeley, in 1989, according to his company bio.
Stockton Rush, pictured in 2013, often appeared skeptical, if not dismissive, of regulations that might slow innovation.Greg Gilbert/AP/FILE
Rush founded OceanGate in 2009, with a stated mission of “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation.”
In his eagerness to explore, Rush, 61, often appeared skeptical, if not dismissive, of regulations that might slow innovation.
The commercial sub industry is “obscenely safe,” he told Smithsonian Magazine in 2019, “because they have all these regulations. But it also hasn’t innovated or grown — because they have all these regulations.”
Rush said he believes deeply that the sea, rather than the sky, offers humanity the best shot at survival when the Earth’s surface becomes uninhabitable.
As those above ground mourn their loved ones, the search for answers continues on the ocean floor.
Investigators are continuing to scour the area around 13,000 feet deep in the North Atlantic Ocean for any insight into the implosion of the submersible that suddenly lost communication with its mother ship, the Polar Prince, over the weekend.
The international search effort concluded Thursday after debris from the Titan was found near the historic wreckage of the Titanic.
Military experts found the debris was consistent with the disastrous loss of the vessel’s pressure chamber, US Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger announced.
Source: By Sophie Tanno, Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, Mostafa Salem and Sofia Cox.
D-Ample Newspaper 