Titanic sub victims spent final moments in darkness, watching sea creatures pass by

Suleman Dawood (L) with his father Shahzada Dawood.

The ill-fated voyage of the Titanic submersible has brought to light heart-wrenching details about the final moments of the passengers on board. The New York Times reported on the harrowing experience of Christine, the wife and mother of Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, who were among the doomed passengers.

The family's obsession with the Titanic wreckage began in 2012 after visiting a Titanic exhibit in Singapore. Their fascination grew during a trip to Greenland in 2019, where they became intrigued by glaciers that transformed into icebergs - the same ocean hazard that sank the Titanic in 1912.

Christine came across an advertisement by OceanGate offering trips to the wreckage. Initially, she was supposed to accompany her billionaire husband, but due to pandemic-related delays, their 19-year-old son took her place.

The family's journey was nearly jeopardized when their flight to St. John's, Newfoundland, where the mother ship was departing from, was canceled and subsequently delayed. Despite their concerns, the family made it on time, with Christine and her daughter joining the expedition to watch Shahzada, Suleman, and others embark on the submersible.

While the family had invested $250,000 for each member to partake in the trip, their experience on board the Polar Prince, the mother ship, leading up to the submersible's descent was far from luxurious.

They slept in cramped rooms with bunk beds, dined on buffet-style meals served on trays, and endured back-to-back meetings from 7 am to 7 pm. However, the passengers were offered the opportunity to watch the movie "Titanic" during their downtime.

Christine revealed that the meetings primarily focused on the submersible's safety but acknowledged that some technical aspects went over their heads. She admitted, "That engineering side, we just had no idea."

Amidst the technical lessons, passengers were regaled with deep-sea tales by Stockton Rush, the founder and CEO of OceanGate. The crew on board the Polar Prince prepared the passengers for what awaited them as they reached the launch-off point in the middle of the ocean.

Rush advised a "low-residue diet" the day before the trip, cautioned against consuming coffee on the morning of the descent, and suggested wearing thick socks and a beanie to combat the frigid temperatures.

The passengers were warned about potential condensation on the submersible's floor and encouraged to avoid getting their feet wet. They were also advised to load their favourite songs onto the submersible's music player, as the journey could last up to four hours.

The sub’s lights were off to conserve battery but the occupants were told that they would be able to watch of bioluminescent sea creatures.

Christine recalled the unwavering enthusiasm of her family, even as Shahzada expressed his discontent with the required equipment before entering the submersible. The day of the departure was filled with excitement, as Shahzada repeatedly exclaimed, "I'm diving tomorrow!"

However, tragedy struck when contact with the submersible was lost less than two hours into the descent. The crew informed Christine that such glitches were not uncommon, and if contact was not reestablished within an hour, the submersible would release its weights and resurface.

The submersible presumably suffered a catastrophic implosion soon after killing all its occupants.