Pak Businessman Shahzada Dawood Killed In Titanic Sub Survived A Plane Accident Few Years Ago

International

oi-Prakash KL

British-based Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his teenage son are among five people who died after a “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible.

On Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced that the remains of the submersible vessel lost in the Atlantic Ocean had been found by an ROV on the ocean bed near the wreck of the Titanic which sank in 1912.

Before the discovery of the Titan remains, the family had said in a statement that Shahzada was a loving father and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood, was a university student.

“Shahzada is a loving father to Suleman and Alina, husband to Christine, brother to three siblings, and son to Hussain & Kulsum Dawood. His 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood, is currently a university student,” the statement said.

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“Shahzada has been actively advocating a culture of learning, sustainability, and diversity in his capacity as Vice Chairman of Pakistan’s Engro Corporation. Passionate about social impact, he works extensively with the Engro Foundation, The Dawood Foundation, the SETI Institute, and Prince’s Trust International.

As the tragedy strikes the family, it has now come to light that the Pakistani businessman and his family members survived a ‘plane plunge’ in 2019.

Pakistani tycoon’s wife Christine Dawood had opened up on the incident in an old blog post, according to a report in Hindustan Times.

Titled ‘Living With Anxiety’, she had revealed about the incident on a website – Next Step Now. She wrote, “I started out as an engineer because a teacher told me I’m good with numbers and I choose the textile industry because of my parents family business. Then life happened and I needed to re-evaluate, needed to change and re-orient.” “One incident changed everything once again and made me take the path I’m on now,” she said.

Explaining how she became a psychologist and coach, she said, “It is personal, uncomfortable and overwhelming at times, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Christine then talks about the cancelled flight which “took a deep plunge” after taking off.

“I later read that a plane doesn’t drop more than three to five metres during turbulence, but my stomach in that moment would beg to differ. The whole cabin let out one simultaneous cry, which turned to a whimper and then silence,” Christine added. “Dead silence.”

She continued, “The plane plunged again, and shook left and right. I felt like a grain in a big bag of sand, or a boxer being soundly defeated – punched from all directions. I clutched my armrests, as if that would make a difference. I needed something to hold on to, something stable in a shaky metal tube thousands of feet above the ground.”

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In the middle of the terrifying experience, Christine decided to quit cigarettes if the plan had a safe landing. “It went dark. Storm clouds amassed around us, immersing the cabin in a strange kind of twilight. It was not quite light and yet not fully dark. It engulfed us, teased us and breathed fear into some and bravery into others,” she wrote. She added, “Shake left, shake right! My head hit the window. Then came an announcement. It was the captain telling us that he would try to land from a different angle. The engines roared and we gained height again.”

The ordeal was not over quickly. “The force of the thrust slowing the plane brought me back to reality. We had made it. We had survived. But I still couldn’t move. I still couldn’t comprehend. We were safely on the ground and yet my throat felt as if a noose was tightly around it. I felt a squeeze of my hand and heard somebody talking to me, but I was frozen still,” she said.

The wife of the Pakistani tycoon said, “It’s then that I realised that my life had changed and would never be the same again.”

Meanwhile, the aunt of Suleman Dawood, the son of the Pakistani billionaire, has revealed that he was terrified of the daring expedition. “I feel like I’ve been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn’t know what you’re counting down to. I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them,” Azmeh told NBC News.

The Dawood family is a well-to-do family in Pakistan who stayed in a Surrey mansion in the UK. Shahzada was a business advisor serving on the board for Prince’s Trust International.