An excursion to the wreckage of the Titanic has turned into a perilous rescue mission to locate and save five passengers trapped underwater in a missing submersible.
According to The Associated Press, authorities reported a submersible vehicle—named Titan and operated by OceanGate Expeditions—overdue Sunday evening about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the Atlantic Ocean. The vessel went to sea around 6 a.m. Sunday and reportedly lost contact with its support ship within an hour and 45 minutes. The Titan is believed to be carrying only 96 hours worth of oxygen, leaving the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards in a race against time to find the vehicle.
Among the five passengers aboard the missing submersible are a record-breaking British adventurer, two members of a prominent Pakistani business family, a famed Titanic researcher, as well as a pilot and engineer. Here is what we know about their identities so far.
Hamish Harding
Harding, 58, is a British businessman, pilot, and explorer. He is the founder and chairman of Action Aviation, a company based in the United Arab Emirates that buys and sells aircraft.
Harding posted about the Titanic voyage on Instagram over the weekend, saying the crew would attempt the dive during a small break in the treacherous Newfoundland weather.
According to The Washington Post, Harding is also the chairman of the Middle East chapter of the Explorers Club, which brands itself a “multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration, and resource conservation.” Richard Garriott de Cayeux, the club president, confirmed in a statement Monday that Harding was part of the Titanic voyage. “His excitement about this expedition was palpable,” de Cayeux said.
Harding holds three exploration-related Guinness World Records, including “longest time spent traversing the deepest part of the ocean on a single dive” for a 2021 journey to the Mariana Trench that lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes. He was a passenger on the fifth human spaceflight for Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin in 2022, and he traveled to Antarctica in 2016 with famed Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Paul-Henri Nargeolet
Nargeolet, 77, is a French maritime expert who has been on at least three dozen dives to the Titanic site—even becoming known as “Mr. Titanic.” Nargeolet’s literary representative, Mathieu Johann, confirmed to the The New York Times on Tuesday that he is one of the missing crewmembers.
Nargeolet is the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, Inc., the American company that owns the salvage rights to the famous shipwreck. RMS Titanic conducted eight research and recovery missions between 1987 and 2010, and has displayed thousands of artifacts from the ship in exhibitions around the world.
A former mine-clearing diver and submarine pilot for the French Navy, Nargeolet was part of previous dives to the Titanic on Titan, the missing OceanGate submersible.
Stockton Rush
A spokesperson for OceanGate confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday afternoon that Rush, the company’s CEO, is among the five passengers.
Rush, believed to be around 61 years old, discussed the Titanic’s deterioration and OceanGate’s diving process in a 2022 interview with Today in Australia shown above.
According to his company biography, Rush founded OceanGate in 2009 and oversees its financial and engineering strategies. In 1981, at age 19, he became the youngest jet transport rated pilot in the world. He obtained a BSE in aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 1984, and an MBA from Cal-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in 1989. Rush also served as a flight test engineer for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15 program in the mid-1980s.
In a 2022 interview with CBS News reporter David Pogue, Rush seemingly downplayed the dangers involved in each Titanic excursion. “You know at some point, safety is just pure waste,” he said. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything ... If you look at submersible activity over the last three decades, there hasn’t even been a major injury, let alone a fatality.”
“What I worry about most are things that will stop me from being able to get to the surface,” Rush continued. “Overhangs, fish nets, entanglement hazards. And, that’s just a technique, a piloting technique. It’s pretty clear—if it’s an overhang, don’t go under it.”
Shahzada and Suleman Dawood
BBC News London and ABC News have both confirmed that British businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, were part of the expedition.
“As of now, contact has been lost with their submersible craft and there is limited information available,” the Dawood family said in a statement, according to ABC News. “The family is well looked after and are praying to Allah for the safe return of their family members.”
Shahzada Dawood serves as vice chairman of Engro Corporation Limited, which is based in Karachi, Pakistan. He has built a notable financial portfolio in the fields of energy, agri-nutrients, consumer foods, and petrochemicals. He is also a trustee of the Seti Institute, a nonprofit research organization in the Silicon Valley whose mission is to “lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe.” According to his staff biography, Dawood lives in the United Kingdom with his wife, Christine, and two children.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
