The covid-19 pandemic had already taken its toll and the dream trip to discover the remains of the Titanic was initially postponed.

That was not the first obstacle. A few flight delays threatened to keep the Dawoods from making the journey back underwater in the Titan.

The ship imploded in the Atlantic waters and five lives were destroyed. Two weeks after the tragedy, the last moments aboard the ill-fated submarine have been revealed after the Daily Mail released statements from relatives of the victims.

Who were the passengers trapped in the missing tourist submarine exploring the remains of the Titanic?

The Dawoods… on board

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush had convinced the Dawoods to embark on the exciting journey.

This man, whom the British media recalled as believing it was “safer to take the Titan into the depths of the Atlantic than to cross the street”, had met the Dawood family in a nearby pub van Waterloo to talk to them about the design and safety of the submarine.

Nothing seemed to attract attention in a negative way. June 2023 arrived and they flew to Toronto, Canada on June 14, but their flight to St John’s to join the expedition was canceled, so they had an extra day to explore the city. Their flight the next day was delayed and they feared they wouldn’t make it to the Titan, the Daily Mail reported.

Businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, were worried. The couple’s wife and mother, Christine, and daughter joined them in making that dream a reality. They knew how much they wanted to make the descent and see the ocean liner that sank more than a century ago.

“Dead, dead, dead”: The sinister document passengers signed before boarding the submarine to see the Titanic

Shahzada and her son Suleman became fascinated with the Titanic after visiting an exhibition in Singapore in 2012, the centenary of the ship’s sinking.

Christine Dawood, partner and mother

Christine revealed a few days ago that she had relinquished her place on the Titan to her son. And he also said he took his Rubik’s cube to set a world record.

About boarding on Sunday, June 18, the businessman couple keeps the memory alive: “They arrived on the mother ship in the middle of the night on June 15 in the harbor of St John’s, Newfoundland and set sail for the dive site.”

There were “briefings at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., with science talks and discussions about the wreck and the expedition.”

“Due to the pandemic, my husband could not explore the Titanic earlier and I gave my son my place on the Titan”: Shahzada Dawood businessman couple speaks with great pain

Music and no coffee on the descent to the Titanic

The Daily Mail described that those preparing to make the descent were told to “wear thick socks and a hat (cap) as it can be cold in the depths, and to diet”.

I don’t know, I could have a coffee… On the Titan, it was explained, there was no bathroom.

Passengers were also advised to upload their favorite music to their phones to play through a Bluetooth speaker.

Country music was banned by Rush.

What could be expected in the descent to the Titanic? The passengers were “warned that the descent would be in the dark because the headlights would be off to save the battery for when they went to the bottom of the sea.

It was quite possible that they would see itbioluminescent creatures”.

It was like a well oiled operation, you could tell they had done this many times before

Christine Dawood, wife and mother of two Titan victims

The last image of Shahzada Dawood and her son

On the morning of June 18, the passengers were scheduled to be on the submarine’s deck at 5 a.m.

The Dawoods, the Daily Mail describes, “were in their OceanGate suits, waterproof trousers, an orange waterproof jacket, steel-toed boots, life jackets and helmets.”

They weighed them all. Father and son were photographed. They were happy. That photo, the last hours, the world knew.

Christine and her daughter Alina, according to the publication, were on the so-called mothership of the submarine Polar Prince.

They looked excited. Until then, the concern was the lack of mastery of Shahzada Dawood’s heavy boots.

‘I hope they don’t fall into the water’, Christine said. The Dawoods, father and son, would see their dream come true, the woman thought… After a short time, however, she learned that there was no contact with the submarine. He didn’t understand what they were talking about. The nightmare was about to begin.