The mother of the teenager who died in the implosion of the Titan submersible last week was reportedly supposed to be on the deep-sea vessel.
Christine Dawood told CNN that she was supposed to go on the expedition but allowed her son to take her place.
“I was really happy for them because both of them, they really wanted to do that for a very long time,” she said, adding that the 19-year-old planned on solving a Rubik’s cube at record depths.
“He had this ability of childlike excitement,” she said.
Suleman Dawood and his father, Shahzada Dawood, were two of the five passengers killed when the sub reportedly imploded underwater.
Azmeh Dawood, Shahzada’s sister, told NBC News that the thought of her nephew trapped inside the submarine was “crippling” and that Suleman had been “terrified” of going on the trip.
“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,” Azmeh said. “I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them.”
Azmeh and Shahzada’s parents, Hussain and Kulsum Dawood, issued a statement thanking those who aided in rescue operations for their loved ones and asked for prayers as the family heals from its loss.
“The immense love and support we receive continues to help us endure this unimaginable loss,” they said, according to NBC News.
The ill-fated submersible embarked on June 18 with a pilot and four passengers on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic. This was the sub’s third annual mission to the site, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The Titan lost contact with its mother ship, Polar Prince, less than two hours after it embarked on its journey, and joint efforts were conducted to locate the sub and rescue those inside. Unfortunately, four days after the submersible disappeared, the U.S. Coast Guard announced during a press conference that a remote vehicle had discovered pieces of the sub on the ocean floor and that all five aboard were presumed dead.
Officials believe the Titan lost pressure in a “catastrophic implosion.”