This is the final picture taken of a British-Pakistani father and son just moments before they boarded the doomed Titan submersible.
Businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his student son Suleman, 19, died on Father’s Day on June 18 after the sub imploded as it descended to the wreck of the Titanic.
A picture has emerged online showing the pair smiling alongside one another in orange life jackets shortly before boarding the OceanGate vessel, which vanished about one hour and 30 minutes into an expedition to the wreck site, around 370 miles from the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
It comes after human remains were recovered from the submersible more than a week after the fatal implosion that killed all five on board.
Hamish Harding, 58, a London-born billionaire investor and adventurer, was also on Titan alongside Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, a highly experienced French submariner, and Stockton Rush, 61, the submersible’s pilot, whose firm, OceanGate, organised the dive.
The Dawood family held a memorial service last month to thank everyone who tried to rescue father and son.
Shahzada Dawood’s father, Hussain, said that the pair had been very excited about going to see the Titanic and before leaving for their voyage convinced him that “we should go to Antarctica too”.
“What does the father say when he faces such a tragedy?” he asked. “I’m actually convinced they have enriched our lives beyond measure. We will take forward their legacy.”
Echoing her father-in-law’s sentiment, Christine Dawood said that her husband and son were “best friends” who “belonged together”.
She said: “When he held his son for the first time, I knew these two belonged together. In this spirit two best friends [took their] final journey together.”
