'Suleman Took His Rubik's Cube on Sub, Wanted to Create a Record,' Says Mother

Christine Dawood, the wife of Shahzada Dawood was on Polar Prince, Titan submersible's support vessel.

Christine Dawood, the wife of Pakistani Billionaire Shahzada Dawood and the mother of the 19-year-old Suleman was on Polar Prince, Titan submersible's support vessel, with her daughter when they received the unfortunate news that contact had been lost.

(Photo altered by Kamran Akhter/ The Quint)

On 22 June, the extensive search and rescue operation for the Titan submersible came to a tragic end when OceanGate Expeditions confirmed that all five passengers on board the Titan had died.

Christine Dawood, the wife of Pakistani Billionaire Shahzada Dawood and the mother of the 19-year-old Suleman was on Polar Prince, Titan submersible's support vessel, with her daughter when they received the unfortunate news that contact had been lost.

"I think I lost hope when we passed the 96 hours mark. That's when I sent a message to my family on shore, and I said, 'I'm preparing for the worst'. But my daughter did not lose until the Coast Guard called and said they have found the debris."

Christine Dawood, wife of Shahzada Dawood

Speaking to the BBC, Christine recalls how her husband and son were "so excited" to travel down to the ocean floor and view the Titanic wreckage. “We just hugged and joked, actually, because Shahzada was so excited to go down. He was like a little child."

"He had this ability of child-like excitement, so they both were so excited," she added.

The submersible also had Oceangate CEO and Titan pilot Stockton Rush, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Christine stated that she had planned to visit the Titanic wreck with her husband, but the trip was cancelled due to the Covid epidemic.

"Then I took a step back and gave them room to set up (Suleman) because he really wanted to go," she explained.

19-year-old Suleman carried his Rubik's Cube and planned to create a world record underwater. He even applied to Guinness World Records, and his father, Shahzada, had brought a camera to record the event.

"The relationship between Shahzada and Suleman was a joy to behold; they were each other's greatest supporters and cherished a shared passion for adventure and exploration of all that the world had to offer them," the family said in a statement, according to The New York Times.

Christine is a coach and a psychologist from Germany. She had previously posted a blog post on surviving a near-fatal plane crash in 2019, which had a major impact on her life and work.

Suleman was a student at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde. Shehzada Dawood was the vice-chairman of Pakistani conglomerate Engro Corporation, a large fertiliser firm. Shahzada Dawood and Christine were parents of two children, Alina and Suleman, who lived in Surbiton, Surrey.