Aunt says "terrified" Suleman Dawood only did Titanic sub trip to please dad

A relative has revealed that Suleman Dawood, the 19-year-old aboard the Titanic submersible with his father, was not too keen on the trip.

The Strathclyde University student and his father, Pakistani multimillionaire Shahzada Dawood, were two of five people who perished after the submersible underwent a “catastrophic implosion” underwater.

On Thursday, US Coast Guard officials announced that they had found the Titan’s debris on the ocean floor.

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— Dawood Foundation (@DawoodTdf) June 23, 2023

Suleman’s aunt and Shahzada’s elder sister, Azmeh Dawood, spoke to NBC News about the tragedy. She recalled her brother’s obsession with the Titanic and her “thoroughly good-hearted” nephew’s hesitation to board it.

“I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath,” she said in the interview published yesterday. “It’s been crippling, to be honest.”

Azmeh, who lives in Amsterdam, revealed that despite his reservations and fear, Suleman decided to go forth with the US$250,000-per-ticket submersible trip because it fell on Father’s Day weekend — he just wanted to make his dad happy.

“[Suleman] had a sense that this was not okay — he was not very comfortable about doing it,” shared Azmeh. “He was very, very not into doing it, but it was a Father’s Day thing. It was a bonding experience; he wanted the adventure of a lifetime, just like his father did.”

Shahzada had been fascinated by the historical sunken ship and its wreckage since childhood. The incident jogged memories of the siblings repeatedly watching the 1958 disaster docu-drama A Night To Remember, based on the sinking of the Titanic.

“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,” she told NBC, referring to the oxygen supply countdown for the OceanGate sub that made rounds online and on TV.

Azmeh kept thinking of her two family members being trapped in a small dark vessel in the depths of the ocean made. “I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them,” she shared. “I never thought I would have an issue with drawing breath. It’s been unlike any experience I’ve ever had.”