Mother of Young Pakistani Who Died on Titan Submarine Gave Up Seat to Son for Rubik's Cube Record

The wife of Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, who died on the Titan submarine, revealed that she gave up her spot to her son, Suleman Dawood, so he could attempt to set a record for solving a Rubik's Cube while swimming. She shared this in an interview with the BBC.

According to her, both her husband and son had been excited about the upcoming dive, a topic they discussed in the family for several years. However, plans had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, the young man could not participate in expeditions because no one under 18 was allowed to board.

Kristine Dawood stated that her son loved the Rubik's Cube and had studied all the online instructions to solve the puzzle quickly, ultimately mastering it in just 12 seconds. Suleman intended to set a world record by becoming the first person to solve a Rubik's Cube at a depth of over 3,000 meters, his mother explained.

He had contacted the Guinness World Records committee in advance but was denied the chance to officially register his future achievement due to the exclusion of an official committee member’s presence. Despite this, young Dawood decided to go ahead with his plan without formal recognition of the record. It was suggested that the Rubik's Cube assembly at record depth would be filmed by Shahzada Dawood.

Western media are currently reporting on the possible unreliability of OceanGate Expeditions, which organized the dives. Wealthy businessman Jay Bloom from Las Vegas stated that he was persuaded to join the expedition with a $100,000 discount off the $250,000 ticket price. He released his correspondence with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, indicating that Bloom and his son considered participating in the dive but ultimately opted out due to warnings about the potential dangers of the submarine.

OceanGate's Titan submarine undertook another expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 and is located approximately 3.8 kilometers deep on the Atlantic Ocean floor, about 650 kilometers southeast of Newfoundland. According to The Wall Street Journal, DNA samples were planned to be collected near the shipwreck during the dive. Communication with the vessel was lost on the morning of June 18, and it disappeared from radar.

On June 22, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that debris had been discovered in the area of the submarine's search. On the same day, OceanGate announced that the crew of the submersible was deceased. Among those aboard were British billionaire businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush, the founder of OceanGate. According to Reuters, issues with the submarine may have been concealed since 2018.