Although authorities have not publicly identified any of the five passengers aboard the submersible “Titan” – which was going on an expedition to visit the wreckage of the Titanic but disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday (19) -, their families, friends and companies have started to spread information – creating a clearer picture of who was on the expedition.
Hamish Harding
The British businessman and adventurer lives in the United Arab Emirates. He owns a company called Action Aviation, which buys and sells aircraft, including executive jets, and which confirmed that he was on board the submersible on Sunday (18).
Harding was a passenger on the Blue Origin spaceflight in June 2022 and was one of the first people to travel the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean – the deepest known point on Earth.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet
Harding posted on his social networks on Saturday (17) that the diver Nargeolet would travel with him on Sunday. CBC News spoke with Larry Daley, a St. John’s, who also said that Nargeolet was on the expedition.
“The submarine crew has some legendary explorers, some of whom have made over 30 dives on the RMS Titanic since the 1980s, including PH Nargeolet,” Harding said on Instagram.
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A CNN tried to contact Nargeolet independently, but without success. Nargeolet led several expeditions to the Titanic and oversaw the recovery of many artifacts from the wreck, according to the E/M Group, where Nargeolet was director of underwater research.
Shahzada and Sulaiman Dawood
The Pakistani businessman and his son were also on board, according to a statement released by the family on Tuesday. Shahzada is a trustee at the Seti Institute, a research organization in California, according to its website.
He is also vice president of the Dawood Hercules Corporation, part of the Dawood Group, a conglomerate of several family-owned businesses.
“So far, contact has been lost with their submersible vessel and limited information is available,” the Dawood family statement said.
“A rescue effort being jointly led by multiple government agencies and deepwater companies is underway to re-establish contact with the submersible and bring them back safely.”
“We are very grateful for the concern shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to ask everyone to pray for their safety, ensuring the family’s privacy at this time. The family is well taken care of and is praying to Allah for the safe return of their family members.”
(Published by Gustavo Zanfer, with information from CNN Internacional)
Source: CNN Brasil
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