Family of Titan Passengers Speak Out Amid ‘Nightmarish’ Recovery
Family and friends of the five passengers that were aboard the Titan submersible when it imploded have spoken out about the tragic loss as the sub's debris is brought to shore.
Yesterday, June 28, about a week after the search and rescue operation for the missing sub and its passengers was called off and everyone on board was presumed dead, the remnants of the vessel were offloaded in Canada and prepared to transport to the U.S., where the Marine Board of Investigation will investigate the disaster.
When the pieces of the Titan were pulled out of the water, suspected human remains were also discovered within the wreckage. The Coast Guard said that medical professionals will also analyze the presumed remains.
Loved ones of the souls lost on board have begun to speak out about their losses.
Fred Hagen, a fellow explorer, was friends with Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and had previously worked as a mission specialist on the Titan. Prior to the discovery of the sub's debris field, he was afraid that the group may be stuck in the "extremely cold" deep ocean.
He spoke with People about the “recurring nightmarish” thoughts he's had about his friend potentially freezing to death, even after experts determined it was almost certain that the sub had imploded.
Hagen said he had wanted to gift Nargeolet a warm pair of Uggs, like the ones he'd worn on his first trip to the wreck, but “never got around to it.” As a result, as the world watched on during the frantic search for the sub, he thought, “He's suffering, he may be dying, and his feet are probably frozen. And if I had just ... made the effort to get to send those Uggs to him like I intended then he wouldn't have had to die with frozen feet.”
Christine Dawood, wife and mother of Shahzada Dawood, 48, and Suleman Dawood, 19, was meant to be on the expedition. She told the BBC that her son really wanted to go, though, so she gave up her spot—in contradiction of previous claims from Suleman's aunt, who said he only went to please his father, despite how scared he was.
“I lost hope when we passed the 96 hours mark,” she told the publication, sharing that, just before the men departed, “...we just hugged and joked actually, because Shahzada was so excited to go down, he was like a little child." She continued, "So the sentence, 'We lost comm,' I think that will be a sentence I never want to hear in my life again.”
Hamish Harding, 58, was an aviator, though he was known to adventure through other methods.
His wife Linda's friend Tracy Ryan says her "heart dropped to [her] stomach" when she heard Harding was onboard. She called Congressman Eric Swalwell, who she told People spent two days on the phone trying to get the submarine Magellan deployed to the area.
Aaron Newman, a former mission specialist on the lost sub, also spoke of the late explorer, telling the publication, “He just was loving to explore and push the limits of humans and do conservation. So it wasn't just adventure and exploration, but he did a lot around conservation as well and helping the planet.”
He also knew Stockton Rush, 61, the CEO of OceanGate, who he called "an incredible advisor" when it came to deep sea exploration, who “was easy to get in touch with” and was always “happy to help as he could.”
