A heartbroken mother who lost her husband and son on the Titan submersible has paid a poignant tribute to them on the one year anniversary of their deaths.
Christine Dawood’s businessman husband Shahzada, 48, and Rubik cube fanatic Suleman, 19, were two of the five passengers that died on the Titanic-bound expedition.
Billionaire Shahzada was a trustee at the SETI Institute a non-profit research organisation and had also worked with the Prince’s Trust
Posting a picture of a lit candle on Facebook she wrote: ‘When people pass, they take a piece of you with them.
‘As the one-year anniversary is coming closer, I’m reflecting back on a time that nearly broke me, and yet the love and support I’ve received was, and still is, so huge that I can’t feel anything but being grateful.
‘I miss them every day, every hour, every minute, they will never be replaced. With these candles, I’d like to send their light to anyone who’s open enough to receive it.
Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman (pictured) died during a dive in the North Atlantic to view the wreck of the Titanic, off the coast of Newfoundland, in the Titan vessel
Christine Dawood (pictured) said the deaths ‘nearly broke’ her, speaking a year on
One hour and 45 minutes into the dive in the North Atlantic, off the coast of Newfoundland, the Titan lost communication with its support ship, the Polar Prince
Posting on Facebook, Mrs Dawood said: ‘When people pass, they take a piece of you with them’
‘I’d like to thank everyone for their love and prayers. I felt them and they helped.
‘Light a candle for the missing people in your life and send their light into the world.’
Disaster struck on June 18 last year when the 21-foot vessel lost contact with it’s mothership after diving down to the wreck of the Titanic, off the Newfoundland coast.
Officials later announced they believed the Titan had imploded as it went to a depth of 12,500 ft and a debris field was discovered.
Four months after the tragedy, in October, coastguard officials revealed they had recovered human remains from the scene and these were tale away for analysis.
Besides Shahzada and Suleman, others who died on the expedition included Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeole and Stockton Rush, CEO of Ocean Gate the company that organised the trip.
In December 2023, Christine posted another tribute to her husband and son. Alongside an image of herself in the sea.
She said:’ Every time I touch the ocean, I feel them, because they are part of it now.
‘When the waves caress my skin, it’s like their whispers of love around me. Six months on and I still can’t believe it.
‘I might look forlorn, my heart is not. I feel gratitude to the people around me, who walk beside me who catch me when I stumble and who make me laugh even when I feel like crying.
‘It’s been the most challenging year I’ve ever known, and yet I’m still standing.
Suleman Dawood was just 19 when he went on the trip with his father to see the Titanic
The father and son were among a group of tourists diving to depths of 12,500ft to look at what remains of the passenger liner, having paid $250,000 each
Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck
‘Seeing with me eyes closed. Feeling with me heart bleeding moving with my root deepening, flying with my tattered wings, listening with wind in my hair, so that one day I will be able to love again with all I am.’
Another post last August read:’ I can’t believe it has been eight weeks already.
‘Eight weeks where I wake up to an empty bed.
‘Eight weeks without hugging or kissing them. Eight weeks without hearing their laughs, jokes or even complains (sic).
‘But there is no life without death, just like there is no light without darkness and shadows.
‘Their lights shine bright and while I feel I’m in the darkness right now, I can feel their light, their warmth and their love in everything around me.
‘They are now part of the circle of life, and being in nature, watching fruits and flowers grow, is remind me, that we all have to move on some day. Till I see you again.’
She also said that Suleman had been an ‘incredible gift’. He was at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, studying business analysis and human resources and intending to work with his father in the family business, when they boarded the Polar Prince to visit the wreck of the Titanic in the Titan submersible.
Wife and mother of sub victims reveals she was due to be on vessel
Five people were onboard, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was in the sub along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
Emotional Titan sub rescue crew leader recalls discovery of Titan debris
Sidonie Nargeolet with her father Paul Henri-Nargeolet who died on the Titan sub trip
French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, was one of the five killed when a submersible imploded on a trip to the wreckage of the Titanic a year ago
It comes after the grieving daughter of another of those killed in the Titan tragedy spoke out to say her father, known as ‘Mr Titanic’, died doing what he loved most.
French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, was one of the five killed when a submersible imploded on a trip to the wreckage of the Titanic a year ago.
Ahead of the first anniversary, his daughter Sidonie Nargeolet, 40, said he must have been ‘super happy’ and he had a ‘very good death’.
She told the Sunday Times her father died doing his favourite thing and passed away ‘healthy with his mind intact’.
When she last spoke to him as he arrived on the Polar Prince – the ship from which the sub launched – he was ‘happy’.
But at 6am the next morning, she was told that the Titan was missing and she said she ‘cried for 10 minutes’.