Renowned explorers and one of Pakistan’s most decadent father-son duo were among the five people aboard a submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday while touring the Titanic wreckage, ABC News has learned.
ABC News has confirmed and identified four of those on board as Hamish Harding, a British billionaire businessman, pilot and space tourist; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver and Titanic expert; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani businessman, and his son Suleman Dawood.
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One of Pak’s wealthiest men, his son missing
Shahzada Dawood, 48, a UK-based board member of the Prince’s Trust charity, and his son Suleman, 19, were in the tiny underwater craft when it lost signal in the Atlantic Ocean, 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
Their family, including Shahzada’s wife Christine and daughter Alina, are now enduring an agonising wait for any news of the pair – hoping in vain that they could be found before the oxygen onboard runs out in around 60 hours.
According to authorities, the 21-foot (6.5-meter) tourist craft, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its descent on Sunday but lost contact with the surface less than two hours later.
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Who is Shahzada Dawood?
Shahzada Dawood — the vice-chairman of Karachi headquartered conglomerate Engro — and his son Suleman were aboard the vessel.
Engro has an array of investments in energy, agriculture, petrochemicals and telecommunications. At the end of 2022, the firm announced a revenue of 350 billion rupees ($1.2 billion).
Shahzada’s father, Hussain Dawood, is regularly listed among Pakistan’s richest men by the domestic press.
Shahzada’s profile on Engro’s website said he also serves as a trustee on the board of The Dawood Foundation — a high-profile family education charity founded in 1960.
The family is among the richest in Pakistan but has strong links to the UK, and Shahzada is believed to live in a Surrey mansion with his wife, Suleman and his daughter, who works as a life coach.
He was born in Pakistan but moved to the UK, where he studied law at the University of Buckingham. He also went to the US to study.
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Race against time for rescuers
The missing tourist submersible with five people aboard, including British billionaire Hamish Harding is understood to have last ‘pinged’ while it was directly above its destination – the Titanic. Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the world-renowned French explorer, is also on board. OceanGate chief executive Stockton Rush is believed to be the fifth crew member.
There is now a desperate race against time for rescue crews from the US and Canada to find the 21ft vessel, which takes tourists 12,500ft underwater to see the wreck. It is believed it has enough oxygen to last until 12 pm on Thursday UK time (7 am EST).
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