Titan sub victims' last moments, pictures revealed
MANILA, Philippines — More information are being revealed about the ill-fated OceanGate Titan submersible, which imploded in the ocean depths last month while trying to visit the wreckage of the Titanic, killing the five passengers onboard.
Inside the Titan when it collapsed were OceanGate chief Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
According to a report by the New York Times (NYT) with Shahzada's wife Christine, the passengers were told to eat a "low-residue diet" the day before the dive, and not drink coffee the morning of the dive.
They were also asked to load their favorite songs — though Stockton insisted no country music be included — on phones to be played on a Bluetooth speaker during the journey, making it likely they were listening to music while watching deep sea creatures when the submersible catastrophically imploded.
Shahzada additionally brought with him a Rubik's Cube in the hopes of breaking the world record for completing the puzzle underwater.
Also released was the last known picture of the Dawood father and son, taken on the Titan's mothership the Polar Prince; both wearing orange waterproof jackets and life vests.
Christine and her 17-year-old daughter Alina were aboard the mothership when the Titan lost contact with the surface.
Related: All five on Titanic sub dead after 'catastrophic' implosion
She also recalled Stockton flying to London to meet with her husband and son to brief them about the journey and assure them them the submersible was safe.
NYT noted that more Titan missions, which cost £200,000 (P14.2 million) per seat, were aborted than accomplished. In fact, the first four dives this year did not even reach the Titanic wreckage.
According to reports, explorers are on a race against time to visit the Titanic because scientists believe the ship would completely disappear and would be eaten away by bacteria by 2030.
The Titan was meant to ferry passengers down to the remains of the Titanic — which sank during its 1912 maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg — almost four kilometers below the surface of the North Atlantic.
But discussions about the subermersible's design were criticized beyond its 22-foot-long and 9-foot-wide measurements.
The Titan was made from carbon-fiber, steered using a gaming-like controller, had no GPS (global positioning system), and relied on text messages sent via an acoustic system for guidance from the Polar Prince. Passengers also cannot exit without external assistance as they are sealed inside the main cabin by bolts removable only from the outside.
Such safety issues were compounded by revelations that the experimental submersible had no proper regulation, and trips "could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma, or death" as indicated in a required contract to be signed by passengers.
RELATED: 'Presumed human remains' discovered in Titan sub wreckage
