The youngest victim of the Titan submersible disaster took his Rubik's Cube with him as he wanted to break a world record for completing it underwater, his mum has shared.
Suleman Dawood, 19, and his father Shahzada both died in the disaster last week, with Stockton Rush, the 61-year-old CEO of OceanGate which owned the Titan, Hamish Harding, 58, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77.
Suleman’s mother Christine and sister Alina, were both aboard the Polar Prince the whole time throughout the tragedy. They only returned to shore when the Polar Prince docked on Saturday after eight days at sea.
Mrs Dawood, from Long Ditton, Surrey, said she had originally planned to go with her husband to view the wreck of the Titanic.
But an earlier planned trip was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
Moments before Suleman and Shahzada boarded the submersible they hugged and made jokes with Mrs Dawood and Alina before saying goodbye for the final time.
And Mrs Dawood revealed her son - capable of completing the puzzle in 12 seconds - had contacted Guinness World Records before setting off.
She told the BBC : "I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time.
“He said, 'I'm going to solve the Rubik's Cube 3,700 meters below sea at the Titanic'.
"I think I lost hope when we passed the 96 hours mark."
Mrs Dawood, from Long Ditton, Surrey, said she had originally planned to go with her husband to view the wreck of the Titanic and an earlier planned trip was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
She went on to describe her husband, the son of one of Pakistan’s richest billionaires, as infectiously curious about the world around him.
She said that's when she sent a message to her family. "I said: 'I'm preparing for the worst.' That's when I lost hope."
Alina held out a bit longer.
Mrs Dawood added: “She didn't lose hope until the call with Coast Guard. When they basically informed us that they found debris."
Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed they are looking into the circumstances of the passengers' deaths .
Dr Dale Molé, a former Navy doctor, has claimed that the final moments for the crew of the submarine would have been quick and painless.
He said: "It would have been so sudden, that they wouldn't even have known that there was a problem, or what happened to them.
"It's like being here one minute, and then the switch is turned off. You're alive one millisecond, and the next millisecond you're dead."
He explained the crew would not have realised there was a problem or what was happening to them.
Parts of the submersible were found on Thursday, approximately 1,600ft (487m) from the bow of the Titanic wreck. It had disappeared on Sunday .
