ISLAMABAD: The prominent Pakistani Dawood family on Friday announced that Shahzada Dawood, a British Pakistani businessman, and his teenaged son Suleman, were among the five people aboard a submersible journeying down to view the Titanic, which authorities believe met with a “catastrophic implosion.”
The Titan, operated by the US-based company OceanGate Expeditions, had been missing since it lost contact with its surface support ship on Sunday morning about an hour, 45 minutes into what should have been a two-hour dive to the world's most famous shipwreck.
On Thursday night, the US Coast Guard said the sub had been found in pieces from a "catastrophic implosion" that killed everyone aboard, ending a multinational five-day search for the vessel.
“Our beloved sons were on board OceanGate’s Titan submersible, which tragically perished underwater,” the Dawood family said in a Twitter post about Shahzada, 48, and Suleman, 19.
“We kindly request you to keep their departed souls and our family in your prayers as we navigate through this difficult period of mourning.”
Shahzada was the vice chairman of Engro Corporation, a Pakistani conglomerate working in agriculture, energy and telecommunications. His family is known as one of the wealthiest business families in the country and his own work focused on renewable energy and technology, according to a statement from the family.
Shahzada studied law as an undergraduate student at Buckingham University in Britain and later received a master’s in global textile marketing from Philadelphia University, which is now part of Thomas Jefferson University. In 2012, he was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Suleman was a business student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and had just completed his first year, media reported, quoting a spokesman for the school. Like his father, he was a fan of science fiction books and also enjoyed solving Rubik’s Cubes and playing volleyball, according to a statement from Engro.
“The relationship between Shahzada and Suleman was a joy to behold; they were each other’s greatest supporters and cherished a shared passion for adventure and exploration of all the world had to offer them,” a separate statement from the Dawood family said.
“This unwavering curiosity built the foundation for a close friendship between the two.”
