(NewsNation) — A family member revealed 19-year-old Suleman Dawood didn’t want to go on the submersible trip to the Titanic but went to please his father. Both Dawood and his father died after the submersible experienced a catastrophic implosion.
Azmeh Dawood, Suleman’s aunt, told NBC News her nephew was “terrified” of the trip and expressed hesitation about going. However, because it was Father’s Day, Suleman wanted to please his father, Shahzada Dawood.
“My nephew was a normal human being. A normal human being at 19, who had to go down that kind of tunnel and get into that kind of environment would obviously be scared,” Dawood explained Friday on “CUOMO.” “He was scared, as any 19-year-old would be.”
The Titan submersible, an experimental vessel from OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with support ship Polar Prince one hour and 45 minutes into a dive to the wreck, which lies 12,500 feet below the surface of the ocean. Few vessels are able to dive that far due to the extreme pressure exerted at those depths.
The four passengers paid $250,000 a piece to go on the trip. Others on board included British billionaire Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
The Dawoods are one of Pakistan’s most powerful families and owners of chemical and agricultural firm Dawood Hercules Corp.
Azmeh told NBC News that her brother was obsessed with the Titanic. She said his obsession began when he was just a child, when he would constantly watch a movie made about the disaster. Azmeh said the obsession continued into adulthood, with Shahzada seeking out artifacts and museum exhibits about the doomed ship.
The ocean liner, which sank in 1912, with only around 706 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew surviving, has been a source of fascination for many. The wreckage was discovered in 1985 but few have visited the site as it continues to slowly disintegrate.
The Titan had made previous voyages to the site and returned safely, though former passengers have said there were issues during some trips. Experts in the field and a former OceanGate employee, who was later fired, also raised serious safety questions about the Titan.
Azmeh Dawood described her brother as a “superb” father and nephew as a “kind” person who both placed their trust in OceanGate. She criticized the company for marketing a product that potentially could have posed a greater risk to her family.
“You can’t blame people for trusting what other people say to them,” she said. “What we can do is blame the fact that the problems were not highlighted.”
After the sub was reported missing, the Coast Guard and international partners launched a massive search for the vessel.
However, debris found Thursday was confirmed to be from the Titan. Found 1,600 feet from the Titanic, officials said the debris is consistent with the sub experiencing a catastrophic implosion that would have killed all those on board instantly. Investigations are ongoing to determine what exactly happened to cause the disaster.
Azmeh Dawood is thankful for the massive search-and-rescue efforts, even though it didn’t result in the outcome the family hoped for.
“My brother Shahzada and his son Suleman are actually heroes. They went down there for an adventure of a lifetime, for knowledge, for bonding, to have something special in their lives,” she said. “My brother and his son are heroes, and that’s how I think they should be remembered.”
