Son, 19, killed with dad in Titanic submarine tragedy was 'terrified' about trip
The youngest passenger of the submersible that disappeared and imploded while taking five people to view the Titanic wreckage felt "terrified" about the trip and "wasn't very up for it", his aunt revealed tonight.
University student Suleman Dawood is believed dead alongside his father Shahzada, the sub's pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Today, the US Coast Guard said all passengers are presumed dead and offered its "deepest condolences" to the families after the tail cone of the submersible was found around 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic wreckage.
In a press conference, Rear Admiral John Mauger said further debris was "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber".
After the sad announcement, Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of Mr Dawood said that her nephew had expressed hesitation about joining the expedition.
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Shahzada Dawood was passionate about the Titanic, his older sister said (AP)
Suleman Dawood decided to join the trip to please his dad, his aunt revealed tonight (AP)However, eventually he had accepted and went aboard OceanGate's 22-foot submersible as the trip fell over Father's Day weekend and he wanted to please his dad, who was passionate about the lore of the Titanic.
The woman told NBC News: "I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath ... It's been crippling, to be honest."
Talking after the Coast Guard's announcement, Azmeh said, sobbing: "I feel disbelief. It's an unreal situation."
She said that over the past few days, she constantly checked the news in the hope of finding out some updates about her brother and nephew, adding: "I feel like I've been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn't know what you're counting down to.
"I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them."
The Titan submersible imploded, the US Coast Guard said (PA)After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014, Azmeh moved from England to Amsterdam so she would have easier access to medicinal cannabis.
However, she explained that some family members, including her younger brother, disapproved of her use of cannabis and started speaking to her less frequently.
But despite their fall-out, speaking about her brother, she said: "He was my baby brother. I held him up when he was born."
She added that Shahzada was "absolutely obsessed" with the Titanic from a young age and when they were kids in Pakistan, the siblings would constantly watch the 1958 film "A Night to Remember," a drama about the sinking of the cruise liner.
They were on an expedition to see the wreckage of the Titanic (PA)In a statement, OceanGate Expeditions said: "These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world's oceans.
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"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.
"We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
At the press conference in Boston, Rear Admiral Mauger said: "This morning, an ROV, or remote operated vehicle from the vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.
"The ROV subsequently found additional debris. In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.
The sub lost communication with a ship on the surface about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive on Sunday (EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)"Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families.
"On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them.
"And I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time."
Asked what the prospects of recovering crew members were, Rear Admiral Mauger said: "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.
"And so we'll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don't have an answer for prospects at this time."
Specialist equipment being loaded onto a Royal Air Force A400M Atlas aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth, ahead of its trip to help search operations (PA)Rear Admiral Mauger said there did not appear to be any connection between the underwater noises detected during the search and rescue mission and the location of the debris on the seafloor.
"This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel which would have generated a significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up," he said.
Undersea expert Paul Hankin said five major pieces of debris helped to identify it as from the Titan submersible.
He told reporters: "We found five different major pieces of debris that told us that it was the remains of the Titan.
"The initial thing we found was the nose cone which was outside of the pressure hull.
"We then found a large debris field. Within that debris field we found the front end bell of the pressure hull.
"That was the first indication that there was a catastrophic event."
Paul Hankins, Director of Salvage with the US Navy, briefs the news media (CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)He continued: "Shortly thereafter we found a second smaller debris field. Within that debris field we found the other end of the pressure hull.
"We continue to map out the debris field, and as the admiral said, we will do the best we can to fully map out what's down there."
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the update as "tragic news" and said the UK Government is closely supporting the British families affected.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry offered its "deepest condolences" to the Dawood family and the families of other passengers.
In a Twitter post, a spokesman said: "We appreciate the multi-national efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel."
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