The mother of the teenager who died on the Titan submersible has said she gave up her place to her son “because he really wanted to go”.
Suleman Dawood, 19, and his father Shahzada, 48, were among five people who died when the vessel imploded on a journey to view the wreck of the Titanic.
Christine Dawood told the BBC the original trip had been scheduled before the pandemic and said her son had been disappointed that he was not old enough to accompany them.
She said: “It was supposed to be Shahzada and I going down. I stepped back and gave the place to Suleman because he really wanted to go.”
Asked how she felt about the decision, she replied: “Let’s just skip that.”
She said “both of them were so excited” and her son had taken a Rubik’s Cube with him because he wanted to break a world record.
Dawood said her son loved the puzzle so much that he carried it with him everywhere and could solve it in 12 seconds. He planned to solve the puzzle 3,700 metres below sea by the remains of the Titanic.
The family boarded the Polar Prince, the sub’s support vessel, on 18 June – Father’s Day – anticipating the trip of a lifetime. Dawood and her 17-year-old daughter Alina were still onboard when word came through that communications with Titan had been lost.
