Suleman Dawood, the 19-year-old teen who was aboard the OceanGate Titan on its last, fateful trip, had hopes to break the world record. He wanted to be the first person to solve the Rubik's Cube in the depths of the ocean. According to his mom, that was the one thing he aspired to do while on the mission to visit the RMS Titanic shipwreck.
Christine Dawood opened up in her first interview since the presumed deaths of her son and husband. “He said, ‘I’m going to solve the Rubik’s Cube 3,700 meters below sea at the Titanic,'” she told BBC.
According to her, Suleman was able to solve the cube in under 20 seconds. She added that he always carried it with him wherever he went, so it was no surprise that he wanted to take it on the excursion.
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Christine was initially the person who was supposed to accompany her husband, Shahzada Dawood, on the OceanGate Titan. At the time, though, that trip was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But this year, she allowed her son to go on the trip in place of her, saying that "he really wanted to go." She added, “I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time."
Christine and her 17-year-old daughter were aboard the mothership that the Titan launched from. An hour and 45 minutes after the launch, when the Polar Prince lost communications with the sub, they were still aboard.
“I didn’t comprehend at that moment what it meant," the grieving wife shared. "And then it just went downhill from there." Soon after, the rescue mission turned into a recovery mission and Christine knew that things weren't looking good.
“I think I lost hope when we passed the 96 hours mark,” she shared, noting that she began alerting loved ones. “I said, ‘I’m preparing for the worst.’ That’s when I lost hope.”
A funeral prayer was held for the father and son on Sunday. As part of the ongoing investigation to find answers, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be examining voice recordings and other data from the Titan to figure out what really happened on the fateful trip.
