The father and grandfather of a dad and son who died in the implosion of the Titanic submersible has said the pair were 'terribly excited' for the trip.
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, were part of a five-man crew who paid close to £200k to board a submarine-like vessel to view the famous Titanic shipwreck.
The submersible imploded in the Atlantic Sea and killed everyone on board.
In tears, father and grandfather Hussain Dawood said during a prayer service yesterday that his son and grandson were gifts of God that had been taken back by God.
He also described the two as martyrs and said: "Martyrs go straight to paradise."
"What does the father say" when he faces such a tragedy, he asked.
He also said the pair were very excited about going to see the Titanic and before leaving for their voyage convinced him that they should go to Antarctica next winter.
"I’m actually convinced they have enriched our lives beyond measure", he continued and said he "will take forward their legacy."
Wife and mother Christina Dawood shared memories at the service when she first met her husband and their wedding in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore.
The widow said the past week had been full of "shock, hope and finally despair and grief" and she also thanked those involved in trying to find the missing submersible.
Christina said when their son was born Suleman she "just knew" that the father and son belonged together. She said she sensed then that he had “found a long-lost companion for his adventures to come."
British billionaire Hamish Harding, Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush also died in the implosion.
Christina previously said she had finally "lost hope" when the oxygen time limit of 96 hours had passed.
She told the BBC over the weekend: "We all thought they are just going to come up, so that shock was delayed by about ten hours or so.
"By the time they were supposed to be up again, there was a time... when they were supposed to be up on the surface again and when that time passed, the real shock, not shock but the worry and the not-so-good feelings, started."
The mother of the teenager also said in a tragic twist that she gave up her place to her son after the original trip was postponed due to Covid.
