The Pakistani government offered its condolences to the family of British-Pakistani nationals, father and son duo Shahzada and Suelman Dawood, who were among the five people who lost their lives on the Titanic submersible.
“Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic,” the ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.”
‘Profound grief’ for family
The family of the Shahzada and Suelman expressed “profound grief” at their loss on Friday.
Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, were a part of one of Pakistan’s most profitable business empires, Dawood industries.
“It is with profound grief that we announce the passing of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood,” said a statement from the Dawood Foundation.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the other passengers on the Titan submersible,” it read, signed by Hussain and Kulsum Dawood, Shahzada’s parents.
No survivors from missing Titanic sub
OceanGate released a bleak statement on Thursday after the US Coast Guard said that a “debris field” has been discovered by an underwater robot searching near the wreck of the Titanic for a missing submersible with five people on board. It said that the passengers have “sadly been lost”.
US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said that he can’t confirm whether the US Coast Guard will be able to recover the bodies of the five passengers, who were the company’s CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
According to the officials, five major pieces were detected amid the debris around the Titanic site. A nose cone, outside the pressure hull, and a larger debris field were among them.
“This is an incredibly unforgiving environment,” Mauger added, further mentioning that a few hours ago, an ROV from the vessel Horizon Artic found the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1600ft from the bow of the Titanic wreck.
The families of those on board were notified when they found additional debris, which according to the report was consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.
Mauger stated that the US Coast Guard will keep working near the site to gather more information. He added that it’s an “incredibly complex environment” on the sea floor, two miles beneath the surface.
(With inputs from agencies)
