Pakistani businessman missing on Titanic sub survived plane drama
Pakistani tycoon trapped on sub lost at Titanic wreck with four others once survived nightmarish ‘plane plunge’ that left passengers thinking they were going to die
- Shahzada Dawood, a British-Pakistani businessman, 48, boarded the now-missing Titanic tourist submersible with his son, Suleman, 19
- His wife Christine and daughter Alina are currently in Canada praying for good news from the desperate search for the sub, which has five people on board
- Christine Dawood, a psychologist and life coach, wrote a blog post in January 2019 describing a terrifying flight she experienced with her husband
A British-Pakistani businessman who is among the ‘Titanic Five’ on the missing tourist submersible survived a terrifying plane journey, which passengers thought would cost them their lives.
Shahzada Dawood, 48, is trapped on board the sub with his son Suleman, 19.
His wife, Christine, a psychologist and life coach, wrote a blog post in January 2019 describing a horrific flight she and her husband once endured.
‘I’ve read many times that people start to pray in such situations or that their life flashes by like a movie,’ she wrote.
‘My husband told me later that he was thinking of all the opportunities he’d missed and how much he still wanted to teach our children.’
Christine and her daughter Alina are currently in Canada, praying for good news as the clock ticks down and desperate search efforts continue.
Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, are both on board the missing sub at the Titanic wreck site
Shahzada Dawood is seen with his wife Christine, a life coach, who wrote in January 2019 about a terrifying plane landing
Christine did not say when the flight took place or where they were flying to or from.
She described how the plane plunged twice amid a storm while coming in to land, just as the seatbelt sign had come one.
‘The mumbling got louder. Some were praying, I’m sure, some just nervously talking. I heard a cry here or there and a few swear words thrown in for good measure,’ she wrote.
‘People were falling back on their natural coping mechanisms I realized, and mine was calmness.
‘Not the good kind, though. It was the stillness stemming from absolute terror. I was frightened like never before in my life.
‘I wasn’t even able to wipe away the tears running down my face or move my head to look around.’
She said her head slammed against the window, and the captain told them he was going to try and land from another angle.
‘My husband faced me, our eyes locked and our hands interlinked,’ she wrote.
‘No words were needed. He was as scared as I was and yet we were together. ‘Until death do…’ No, don’t go there!’
Christine said she realized ‘my life had changed and would never be the same again.’
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood is one of five passengers onboard the OceanGate Titan sub
Suleman Dawood, 19, is the youngest passenger on the missing sub, which was last seen on Sunday
Her husband has kept up a globe-trotting lifestyle, however – fueled by his passions for science, travel and nature.
‘Traveling, science, are part of his DNA,’ said Ahsen Uddin Syed, a friend who used to work with him at the Engro Corporation, a business conglomerate where Dawood is the vice chairman.
Syed told The New York Times Dawood loves Star Trek and Star Wars, and is a keen photographer.
‘He is an explorer,’ said Syed.
A family source in Karachi, Pakistani – where Dawood is from – released a new picture of the father and son to MailOnline and said: ‘I can tell you that Mrs Dawood and her daughter are currently in the search area at the moment and will remain there for as long as they can.
‘Naturally this is a very tough time for the family and they’re not coping at all well with the situation, they are drawing strength from each other and hoping and praying for the best.
‘The messages of support they are getting from all around the world are also keeping them positive and they are grateful for everyone’s kind thoughts and wishes.
Timeline (British Summer Time) of the search for the Ocean Gate submersible, if Titan has lost its power the crew will be in complete darkness facing temperatures of 3C
Suleman Dawood, 19, who is missing on board the sub is pictured with his mother Christine
Shahzada Dawood, 48, (pictured with his wife Christine) is a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust charity
‘It’s not clear what it was that made Mr Dawood want to go and visit the Titanic with his son, but he is driven by a passion of exploration, and I understand this was something that had been planned for some time.’
His sister, Sabrina Dawood, added: ‘May Shahzada and Suleman return to us safe and sound.
‘We are sure they would be as moved as we are by the support of the global community during this period of difficulty.’
The Dawoods are in the sub with the founder of the exploration company OceanGate, Stockton Rush, 61; British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58; and French Navy veteran and Titanic expert PH Nargeolet.
The air inside the sub will run out at 7am on Thursday.
On Tuesday evening, reports emerged of ‘banging’ sounds, picked up beneath the sea by sonar buoys sent down from a Canadian plane.
Yet experts warned that could be misleading.
‘We don’t know what they are, to be frank with you,’ said Captain Jamie Frederick, of the U.S. Coast Guard.
‘The good news is that we are searching in the area where the noises were detected.
‘Sometimes, we don’t find what we are looking for and you have to carefully consider all of the factors and make a tough decision – but we are not there yet.’
Source: Read Full Article