MUM'S AGONY
I gave up spot on Titanic sub for son who was killed alongside husband when vessel imploded – we may never get closure
THE devastated mum of the teenager killed in the Titanic sub implosion, has revealed she gave up her space on the trip to her son.
Suleman Dawood, 19, tragically died alongside his dad Shahzada and three others in the OceanGate submersible after it imploded catastrophically last Sunday.
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But Christine Dawood has now told how she was originally meant to go down to see the Titanic wreckage before the Covid pandemic hit.
"Then I stepped back and gave them space to set [Suleman] up, because he really wanted to go," she
The grieving mum recalled being on board the Polar Prince - the ship which carried the doomed Titan sub - on Father's Day before the nightmare began.
The family who live in Surbiton, South West London, including daughter Alina, 17, had hugged and made jokes before Suleman and Shahzada boarded the submersible.
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"I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time," she said.
Christine also revealed that her son, a student at University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, had hoped to break a world record with his Rubik's Cube while on the expedition to the famous shipwreck.
And he brought along a camera to document the moment.
"He said, 'I'm going to solve the Rubik's Cube 3,700 meters below sea at the Titanic," the mum said.
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As well as Suleman and his dad, three other people died on board: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire and French Navy Veteran .
It comes after Suleman's aunt claimed the university student was terrified before boarding the sub.
Azmeh Dawood, the older sister of Mr Dawood, said her nephew “wasn't very up for it” and felt "terrified".
She added he felt compelled to please his dad, who was passionate about the Titanic, which sunk on April 14, 1912.
Speaking from her home in Amsterdam, she told : “I am thinking of Suleman, who is 19, in there, just perhaps gasping for breath… It's been crippling, to be honest.”
Azmeh added: “I feel disbelief. It's an unreal situation.”
This comes after the Polar Prince arrived at the Port of St John's in Newfoundland, Canada, on Friday.
Police and safety experts were seen boarding the ship shortly after it docked and began their investigations.
They will ask about safety operations and why the alarm was not raised until eight hours after contact with the submersible was lost.
The launching platform from which the 22ft sub was dropped was also taken into the harbour and is likely to be examined.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police have also confirmed they are looking into the circumstances of the five deaths, Superintendent Kent Osmond said.
He told a press conference in St John's, Newfoundland: "Today, the RCMP initiated an examination of the circumstances that led to the deaths of the five individuals on board the submersible".
The US Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the causes behind the disaster which claimed five lives.
Chief investigator Captain Jason Neubauer said they hope to recover debris from the sub, and will "take precautions" in case human remains are found.
He said: "We conduct disciplined operations with warranted risk to put our resources and lives at risk to save others. That's who we are."
US Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral John Mauger said the debris found following the submersible's disappearance was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”.
He added: "Upon this determination, we immediately notified the families".
Those onboard would have been killed instantly by the implosion, according to experts.
Following the pair's untimely death, Christine said she and her daughter hope to solve the Rubik's Cube in honour of Suleman.
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The mourning mum said: "Is there such a thing as closure? I don't know."
"I miss them," she said, taking a deep breath. "I really, really miss them."
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