A British billionaire who died on board the missing Titanic tourist submarine wrote a last post warning about temperamental weather conditions ahead of the mission.
Billionaire Hamish Harding, who has previously travelled on the Challenger Deep to the bottom of the ocean and on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin into space, posted on Instagram on Sunday to announce he was joining OceanGate Expeditions for their Titanic mission.
Follow the latest updates on the missing Titanic submarine here.
That was the last time he posted before news broke that the submersible is missing somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
He, along with OceanGate Expeditions founder and CEO Stockton Rush, renowned French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, have now been confirmed dead after the submarine suffered a “catastrophic explosion”.
In his eerie last post before the mission, Mr Harding said it would be “the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023”.
The British aviator said this was because of the “worst winter in Newfoundland in 40 years” but the opening of a “weather window” led to the mission attempting a dive on Monday.
Hamish Harding is feared missing on board the Titanic tourist submarine— (Facebook/Hamish Harding)
He signed off by saying: “More expedition updates to follow IF the weather holds!”
His stepson, Brian Szasz, confirmed his stepfather was on board the vessel when it went missing.
“Hamish Harding, my step father, has gone missing on submarine. Thoughts and prayers,” he wrote on Facebook, sharing family photos and articles.
“Thoughts and prayers for my Mom and Hamish Harding,” he added.
In a follow-up post, he added: “Thoughts and prayers for my stepfather Hamish Harding as his submarine has gone missing exploring Titanic. Search and rescue mission is underway.”
British billionaire Hamish Harding posted on social media of his excitement at visiting the Titanic wreckage— (Action Aviation Chairman)
In a statement shortly after the rescue mission was launched, a spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are in contact with the family of a British man following reports of a missing submarine off the coast of North America.”
