The five people who died on the Titanic submersible spent their final moments in the darkness listening to music; it has been revealed.
Christine Dawood, whose husband and son died in the expedition, described the hours leading up to the fateful voyage in an interview with the New York Times published on Sunday.
British businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son, Suleman, 19, were among the five people killed when the Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, imploded last month off the coast of Canada.
They died with British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, 58, French deep-sea diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and OceanGate founder Stockton Rush, 61.
Mrs Dawood told the New York Times her husband and son were instructed to wear thick socks and hats to keep warm in the submersible.
The Discovery of the Titanic Submarine
She said passengers were told to load their favourite music onto their phones to play through a Bluetooth speaker in the submersible, although Mr Rush had banned country music.
They were warned the descent would be in total darkness to save the submersible’s battery power and headlights for when they reached the site of the Titanic shipwreck.
Mrs Dawood said passengers were told they would pass bioluminescent creatures.
She was on board support ship the Polar Prince with her daughter Alina, 17, when contact was lost with the submersible about one hour and 45 minutes into the dive.
She revealed that the Surrey family almost missed the expedition when one flight was cancelled and another was delayed.
“We were quite worried,” said Mrs Dawood. “What if they cancel that flight as well? In hindsight, I wish they did.”
Gaining Insight into Life on Board the Titanic
She said her husband was “like a vibrating toddler” because he was excited about the trip.
Mrs Dawood had found an advert for OceanGate after the family became fascinated with the Titanic after visiting an exhibition in Singapore in 2012, on the 100th anniversary of its sinking.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has likely recovered human remains from the wreckage of the Titan submersible and is bringing the evidence back to the United States. The submersible imploded last week, killing all five people on board. The vessel was on a voyage to see the wreck of the Titanic.
The return of the Titan debris to port in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on Wednesday is a crucial piece of the investigation into why the submersible imploded. Twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible were unloaded at a Canadian Coast Guard pier.
The U.S. Coast Guard said late Wednesday it had recovered debris and evidence from the sea floor, including what it described as presumed human remains.
“I am grateful for the coordinated international and interagency support to recover and preserve this vital evidence at extreme offshore distances and depths,” U.S. Coast Guard Chief Capt. Jason Neubauer said in a statement. “The evidence will provide investigators from several international jurisdictions with critical insights into the cause of this tragedy. There is still a substantial amount of work to be done to understand the factors that led to the catastrophic loss of the TITAN and help ensure a similar tragedy does not occur again.”
The Canadian ship Horizon Arctic carried a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to search the ocean floor near the Titanic wreck for pieces of the submersible. Pelagic Research Services, a company with offices in Massachusetts and New York that owns the ROV, said on Wednesday that it had completed offshore operations.
Public Interest and Reactions to the Discovery
Pelagic Research Services’ team is “still on mission” and cannot comment on the ongoing Titan investigation, which involves several government agencies in the U.S. and Canada, said Jeff Mahoney, a spokesperson for the company.
“They have been working around the clock now for ten days, through the physical and mental challenges of this operation, and are anxious to finish the mission and return to their loved ones,” Mahoney said.
Debris from the Titan was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater and roughly 1,600 feet (488 meters) from the Titanic on the ocean floor, the Coast Guard said last week. The Coast Guard is investigating why the submersible imploded during its June 18 descent. Officials announced on June 22 that the submersible had imploded and all five people were dead.
The Coast Guard has convened a Marine Board of Investigation into the implosion. That is the highest level of investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.
