The aunt of the youngest passenger of the submarine that disappeared while on a mission to reach the wreckage of the Titanic has said that the 19-year-old "wasn't very up for it [the trip]" but wanted to please his father. Yesterday, several days after the sub lost contact, the US Coast Guard announced that it was believed the submersible had imploded after debris was found.
University student Suleman Dawood is believed dead alongside his father Shahzada, the sub's pilot and chief executive Stockton Rush, British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding and French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The US Coast Guard said all passengers are presumed dead and offered its "deepest condolences" to the families after the tail cone of the submersible was found around 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic wreckage. In a press conference, Rear Admiral John Mauger said further debris was "consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber".
Read more: Missing Titanic sub live updates: Families mourn passengers killed in Titan implosion
Now, Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of Mr Dawood said that her nephew had expressed hesitation about joining the expedition but had joined as it fell over father's day. She said that her brother had been passionate about the lure of the 111-year-old wreckage, reports The Mirror.
The woman told NBC News: "I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath ... It's been crippling, to be honest." Talking after the Coast Guard's announcement, Azmeh said, sobbing: "I feel disbelief. It's an unreal situation."
She said that over the past few days, she constantly checked the news in the hope of finding out some updates about her brother and nephew, adding: "I feel like I've been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn't know what you're counting down to. I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them."
Azmeh told the broadcaster that she had fallen out with some family members, including her brother, as they disapproved of her use of medicinal cannabis after being diagnosed with MS and moving from England to Amsterdam.
But despite their fall-out, speaking about her brother, she said: "He was my baby brother. I held him up when he was born." She added that Shahzada was "absolutely obsessed" with the Titanic from a young age and when they were kids in Pakistan, the siblings would constantly watch the 1958 film "A Night to Remember," a drama about the sinking of the cruise liner.
Concern had been growing for the missing vessel as the air supply reached its last hours. It was expected that the sub named Titan, would run out of oxygen at 1pm UK time on Thursday. This estimated time is based on the number of hours of oxygen the craft had for the five people on board - 96 - and the time it submerged - 1pm UK time on Sunday.
At the press conference in Boston, Rear Admiral Mauger said: "This morning, an ROV, or remote operated vehicle from the vessel Horizon Arctic discovered the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600ft from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.
"The ROV subsequently found additional debris. In consultation with experts from within the unified command, the debris is consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber. Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families.
"On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families. I can only imagine what this has been like for them. And I hope that this discovery provides some solace during this difficult time."
Asked what the prospects of recovering crew members were, Rear Admiral Mauger said: "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor and the debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel. And so we'll continue to work and continue to search the area down there, but I don't have an answer for prospects at this time."
Rear Admiral Mauger said there did not appear to be any connection between the underwater noises detected during the search and rescue mission and the location of the debris on the seafloor.
"This was a catastrophic implosion of the vessel which would have generated a significant broadband sound down there that the sonar buoys would have picked up," he said.
Read more: The amazing day staged for three-year-old boy dying of cancer
