All about the 5 People Who Died on the Titanic Sub — Their Families Speak Out after the Tragedy

• Debris of the missing Titanic submersible has been found after a long search.
• The submarine was filled with adventurers who paid to go on what they thought would be an entertaining cruise.
• Among the passengers was Hamish Harding, whose newly-adopted stepson made a heartwarming post.

Disaster struck the Titan, a submersible filled with passengers hoping to take a deep-sea tour of the area surrounding the wreck of the Titanic. Operated by OceanGate Expeditions, the submersible entered the North Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, June 18. After starting their expedition with everything as expected, the vessel suddenly disappeared.

United States Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick appeared at a press conference to address the situation, saying they started looking for the vessel as soon as they lost track of it but couldn’t find any trace. At the time, the craft only had around 40 hours of air left. Sadly, debris has been found, leading the rescue teams to believe the submersible has imploded.

The submarine started with 96 hours of air, and assuming nothing disastrous had happened to compromise their resources, they still had a reassuring amount of breathable oxygen left. Rescue teams were quick to start their search after they lost contact with the Titan, hoping to find the vessel as soon as possible.

On June 19, the same day the Titan went missing, Harding’s stepson, Brian Szasz, made a Facebook post asking people to keep his stepdad in their prayers.

The Titan dove down to take a look at the ruins of the sunken Titanic, but the rescue teams weren’t sure where the vessel eventually ended up. Unable to trace the Titan, OceanGate requested the help of the Coast Guard.

Since the Titan went missing, a flood of information about the passengers became available. The vessel carried five passengers, with each reportedly paying a $250,000 fee to secure a seat on the unique tour of the ocean depths. The passengers were also supposedly hardened adventurers with ample diving experience.

The final passenger aboard the Titan is the CEO of OceanGate himself, Stockton Rush.

Among the passengers on the Titan was UK billionaire Hamish Harding. The British businessman reportedly posted on social media that he would be part of the passenger list on the Titan only two days before the trip. Harding was a weathered pilot and entrepreneur based in the United Arab Emirates.

In a previous interview, Harding shared that he grew up with his parents in Hong Kong and chose to study at Cambridge University. While completing his studies, he qualified as a pilot in the mid-1980s and later started his own private plane firm, Action Aviation. This also wasn’t Harding’s first foray into the unknown.

With numerous expeditions to his name, Harding certainly wasn’t afraid to brace the deep depths of the ocean. The businessman had braced the icy reaches of the South Pole on numerous occasions, allegedly joining the astronaut Buzz Aldrin on one of these daring trips. Harding was also part of the Blue Origin NS-21 mission in June 2022.

Although Harding had no qualms about going on daring and potentially life-threatening adventures, the business mogul had family at home who was undoubtedly praying to hear from him. Harding was married to Linda Harding, with whom he shared two sons and two stepchildren. The grieving family called Hamish “a loving husband to his wife and a dedicated father to his two sons.”

On June 19, the same day the Titan went missing, Harding’s stepson, Brian Szasz, made a Facebook post asking people to keep his stepdad in their prayers. In one post, Szasz wrote, “Hamish my stepdad is lost in a submarine; thoughts and prayers that the rescue mission will be successful.🙏🖤.” The caption accompanied a photo of Harding.

However, Szasz soon removed his posts about his stepfather, writing that his mother asked him to do so for the sake of privacy.

Besides Harding, a father and a son were also on board the Titan. Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood were confirmed to also be present on the missing submarine. Dawood was one of the wealthiest men in Pakistan, working in a range of different fields.

Dawood served as the vice chairman of Engro Corporation, one of Pakistan’s largest fertilizer companies. He also ran Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited and the Dawood Foundation, which aims to improve access to education in Pakistan. Besides these professional ventures, Dawood also had a few hobbies.

The businessman served on the board of the SETI Institute and was also a member of the British Asian Trust. Dawood’s son was still finishing his studies in London. Dawood’s family opened up about losing their “beloved sons,” Dawood and his boy, stating, “Please continue to keep the departed souls and our family in your prayers during this difficult period of mourning.”

Although little news has come from the ocean depths about the submarine’s state, a Canadian search plane has picked up some possible signs of life.

The fourth passenger of the Titan was the French diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet. Nargeolet has also had his fair share of adventures throughout the years. Originally from Chamonix, France, Nargeolet moved to Africa, where he lived for 13 years. Eventually, he returned to France to finish his studies.

According to the Daily Mail, Nargeolet made 35 previous trips to the Titanic’s wreck, and the scholar was one of the foremost experts on the historic vessel. In 1987, Nargeolet led the first recovery expedition to dive to the depths of the Titanic. His family was distraught over his death, saying their “hearts are broken.”

The final passenger aboard the Titan was the CEO of OceanGate himself, Stockton Rush. Rush reportedly joined the expedition as a member of the submersible’s crew. Besides taking an active part in his company, the CEO also co-founded the OceanGate Foundation, a company that aims to further marine technology for the advancement of science.

Rush was also one of the youngest people ever to obtain their DC-8 Type/Captain’s rating, completing the course at the United Airlines Jet Training Institute in 1981 at 19. He also studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University. OceanGate regretfully stated about the death of the passengers:

“We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”

A Canadian search plane picked up some “banging sounds” coming from the ocean depths, leading rescuers to believe there was still a chance of saving the passengers. Sadly, three days after the sounds were first heard, all the passengers of the Titan were declared to be dead.

On June 22, The U.S. Coast Guard announced that they believed the Titan had imploded as it approached the wreckage of the Titanic after finding debris in the search area. All passengers sadly perished in the catastrophe. OceanGate has asked the public to grant the grieving families privacy as they mourn.