The five passengers who died after Titanic submersible imploded, likely faced their final moments in darkness, surrounded by eerie bioluminescent creatures and listening to their favourite music, according to The New York Times. The tragic details emerged after the wife of Pakistan billionaire Shahzada Dawood - one of the passengers - spoke to the NYT. Mr Dawood, along with her son Suleman, were very excited for the trip that would have taken them to the wreckage of the Titanic more than four kilometres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. The Dawoods' obsession with the Titanic began after visiting an exhibition in Singapore in 2012 and intensified during a trip to Greenland in 2019, where they encountered the same perilous icebergs that caused the Titanic's demise, Chrstine Dawood said while speaking to the outlet.
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After discovering an advertisement by OceanGate offering trips to the Titanic wreckage, Christine Dawood was initially meant to join her billionaire husband. However, due to pandemic-related delays, their 19-year-old son took her place. The family faced uncertainties when their flight to Newfoundland, the departure point of the mother ship, was cancelled and their subsequent flight was delayed. Despite their worries, they eventually made it aboard the Polar Prince in time for the journey.
"We were actually quite worried, like, 'Oh, my god, what if they cancel that flight as well?'" Christine told NYT. "In hindsight, obviously, I wish they did," added the woman who was on the ship above along with her daughter.
They watched as Shahzada, Suleman, and others, including OceanGate's founder and CEO Stockton Rush, Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British billionaire Hamish Harding, entered the 22-foot sub and disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the cramped accommodations and long meetings leading up to the voyage, Christine said her husband and son were very excited for the trip. The family had paid $250,000 each for the experience.
"He was like a vibrating toddler," Christine told the Times of her son's excitement just before he set off on the sub.
The passengers had to contend with bunk beds, buffet-style meals, and back-to-back meetings, with occasional viewings of the movie 'Titanic'. Christine admitted that some technical aspects of the sub's engineering eluded their understanding, comparing it to flying on a plane without comprehending the workings of the engine.
Christine highlighted that OceanGate ran a "well-oiled operation", instilling confidence in the passengers. Preparations included dietary recommendations, advice on clothing for the cold temperatures, and warnings about condensation pooling on the sub's floor.
As the passengers embarked on their journey into the ocean depths, they were advised that the sub's lights would be turned off to conserve battery power, but they might witness the captivating sight of bioluminescent sea creatures. They were encouraged to load their favourite songs onto the sub's music player for the approximately four-hour trip. However, country songs were explicitly discouraged.
Christine's family remained enthusiastic throughout the preparations, despite complaint from Shahzada about the equipment he had to wear. After bidding farewell to her husband and son, Christine and her daughter watched the sub disappear into the vast Atlantic, moving so slowly that they couldn't sense any motion. When communication with the sub was lost within two hours of the descent, Christine was told that such glitches were not uncommon, and if contact wasn't reestablished within an hour, the sub would ascend to the surface.
The wreckage of the sub was discovered on June 22, marking the tragic end to this ill-fated expedition.
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