Christine Dawood’s husband and son were passengers among the ill-fated Titanic submarine that disappeared about 900 miles east of Cape Cod in the North Atlantic last summer.
In her first in-depth interview, the widow told the Daily Mail when she last saw her loved ones, her family’s grief and how she managed to cope with the tragedy.
“When I dream of him, I still feel his hug and it made me quite angry, because I felt lonely,” she told the newspaper in a video interview shared on Friday. In the clip, footage of her late son was played across the screen.
Suleman Dawood and father Shahzada Dawood.
HANDOUT/DAWOOD HERCULES CORPORATION/AFP
Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood were “on a trip to visit the remains of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean” when the ship went missing, their family said earlier in a statement to the BBC.
They traveled on the OceanGate expedition in June to see the famous sunken luxury liner along with company CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Passengers on the Titanic submarine died due to a ‘catastrophic’ pressure implosion: full summary
“If they came back, it would be the story of a lifetime,” Christine continued.
Although no body was found, she added that she is at peace with the fact that her late husband and son do not have a grave, “because now I would like to think of them as part of the ocean.”
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The wreck of the Titanic.
Xavier DESMIER/Gamma-Rapho Getty
She added that on the eve of the expedition she was not afraid that Shahzada and Suleman would go on the trip because there had never been an underwater accident that she knew of.
Christine called her family “explorer glampers” and said the morning before the dive, her husband’s face was “sparkling” with excitement.
“He was really, really happy to go down. And Suleman was very happy,” she said with a smile.
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Her first indication that there was a problem was when it was announced that the capital ship had lost communication with the submarine. “But we didn’t give up hope until the Coast Guard told us they found debris.”
Christine admitted that there were many times in the last seven months when she “just looked at the ocean and cried.”
Her daughter Alina was 17 years old when the incident happened.
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Debris of the submarine Titan.
Paul Daly/The Canadian Press via AP
“The moment we knew they found the wreckage and there were no survivors, Alina and I went on deck. Until that moment we had hope. We brought some pillows with us and just sat there looking at the ocean. We were both crying. I turned around. towards her and said: ‘Now I am a widow.’ She said, ‘Yes, I am a child too.’ Then we cried even more.”
Christine said she chose the interview because Suleman’s birthday is January 15 and she wants to remember him.
“These men were true explorers who shared a special spirit of adventure and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts go out to these five souls and each member of their families during this tragic time. We mourn the loss of life and the joy they brought to all. that they knew,” he previously told OceanGate.
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Source: HIS Education