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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Liam Buckler

Titanic submarine: Final photo of son and dad before they boarded doomed expedition

A chilling final picture of the son and dad smiling just moments before boarding the doomed Titan submarine has emerged.

Shahzada Dawood, 58, and his 19-year-old son Suleman were pictured arm in arm looking excited to board the submersible, which was taking them down to the Titanic wreckage before a "catastrophic implosion" killed all five passengers.

The passengers, who paid $250,000 each for the trip, were on board with Stockton Rush, 61, OceanGate's boss, French Titanic expert Paul Henry Nargeolet, 77 and 58-year-old British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding.

Shahzada's heartbroken wife Christine has revealed the dad and son spent their final moments before boarding the doomed ship listening to their favourite music in total darkness in order to conserve power.

Shahzada and Suleman Dawood both died when the sub imploded (DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP)

Mrs Dawood and her 17-year-old daughter Alina were on board the submersible's mothership, Polar Prince, to wave off her husband and son on the adventure, which was a Father's Day gift.

But just three months earlier, OceanGate's chief executive Stockton Rush and his wife Wendy had flown from the US to meet the family in London to convince them the ship was safe.

This were after concerns from the family over the safety of the submarine - which Stockton rejected and said going to the depths of the Atlantic was "safer than crossing the street".

He met the family for a coffee close to Waterloo in February to personally talk to them and address any concerns they had over the safety of the Titan.

Debris from the Titan submersible is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic (Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock)

Mrs Dawood told the New York Times: "That engineering side, we just had no idea. I mean, you sit in a plane without knowing how the engine works."

However, just 12 weeks later the British-based family set off on the fatal trip after flying to Toronto on June 14 but their flight to St John's was cancelled so they had to wait an extra day.

The following day their flight was delayed and the family feared they wouldn't be able to make the trip.

Titan submersible passengers (L-R, top to bottom) Hamish Harding, CEO Stockton Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood (Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGat)

"We were actually quite worried, like, oh my god, what if they cancel that flight as well? In hindsight, obviously, I wish they did", Mrs Dawood said.

They eventually made their flight and the husband and son boarded the submarine on June 18 at 8am.

The family arrived on the mothership at the harbour in Newfoundland, St John's, in the middle of the night on June 15 and made their way to the dive site.

She said there were briefings with the passengers at 7am and 7pm, along with talks and discussions about the wreckage.

The sub getting prepared for a descent (PA)

They were also told to wear thick socks and a hat as the temperatures dropped in the ocean.

In addition, the passengers were told to stick to a 'low-residue diet' the day before the dive as there was only a camp-style toilet behind a curtain on board.

But just one hour and forty five minutes into the dive, at 9.45 am, the submarine lost contact with the mothership.

The vessel went missing 12,000ft below sea level 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

A huge search operation was underway to locate the missing passengers after oxygen on board was due to run out in four days.

However, a debris field was found by the Coast Guard around 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic last week.

"Presumed human remains" and debris from the submarine were unloaded from the US Coast Guard ship Sycamore and Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St John's, Newfoundland.

An investigation to identify the human remains is underway.

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