Christine Dawood, the wife of Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and mother of their child Suleman, was on board a support vessel when she learned that the Titan submersible was missing. Shahzada and Suleman died after the submersible was destroyed due to a catastrophic implosion – along with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet.
The submersible began its journey on Sunday morning, June 18. About one hour and 45 minutes into its descent, the vessel lost contact with the Polar Prince, the support ship that transported it to the site.
“We all thought they are just going to come up," Christine said, according to 1 News. "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."
Christine had "loads of hope" during the massive search for the submersible, and said it was the "only thing that got us through it". "There were so many actions on the sub that people can do in order to surface," she said of her belief that the passengers may survive. "It was like a rollercoaster, more like a wave... We kept looking at the surface." However, she "lost hope" when the 96-hour mark passed.
Christine recalled laughing and joking with her son and husband before the launch, and said she was "very happy for them” as they had always wanted to go on this adventure.
{{/usCountry}}Christine recalled laughing and joking with her son and husband before the launch, and said she was "very happy for them” as they had always wanted to go on this adventure.
{{/usCountry}}Following the tragedy, investigators from the US Coast Guard, the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the French marine casualties investigation board and the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch have been working closely on the probe.
Meanwhile, OceanGate has closed its headquarters in Everett, Washington State. The leasing agent said the company would be closing indefinitely, according to The Seattle Times. It was also revealed that officials investigating the Titan will reportedly examine voice recordings and other data from its mothership Polar Prince to determine what happened during the voyage. They will also try to determine if the incident occurred criminally.