Pakistan teenager on board Titan took Rubik’s Cube with him, wanted to break world record

The Pakistani-origin teenager who travelled with his father in the doomed Titan submersible had Rubik’s Cube with him so that he could break the world record during the voyage.

Suleman Dawood, 19, had applied to the Guinness World Records before the ill-fated trip, and his father Shahzada Dawood was going to capture the moment on camera, his mother, Christine Dawood told BBC.

Christine and her daughter were onboard the Polar Prince, the submersible's support vessel when they were informed that the Titan had been lost.

"I didn't comprehend at that moment what it meant, and then it just went downhill from there," she was quoted as saying.

Initially, Christine was supposed to go with her husband to view the Titanic wreck in the Atlantic Ocean, but the trip was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

"Then I stepped back and gave them space to set [Suleman] up because he really wanted to go," she said.

Speaking about her son, Christine said that her son used to love complex puzzles and Rubik’s Cube, which he used to carry everywhere.

“He once even solved the complex puzzle in 12 seconds, dazzling onlookers in the process,” she said.

"He said, 'I'm going to solve the Rubik's Cube 3,700 metres below the sea at the Titanic'."

Suleman was studying at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, in the UK. Shahzada Dawood, a British businessman, was from one of Pakistan's richest families.

The family, including daughter Alina, 17, boarded the Polar Prince on Father's Day (June 18).

In the final moments before boarding the Titan, they made jokes and hugged each other, Christine told BBC.

Christinesaid they hugged and made jokes in the moments before her husband and son boarded the Titan submersible.

US Coast Guard launches probe

Meanwhile, the United States Coast Guard has launched an investigation that will recover debris from the Titan submersible disaster. The investigation will look into what caused the tragic implosion that killed five people.

Speaking at a press conference in Boston, Chief investigator Captain Jason Neubauer said that the priority is recovering debris from the vessel. He added that precautions will be taken in case human remains are found.

The investigation, as per him, will be jointly run by Canadian, UK and French authorities and it will able to predict whether civil or criminal charges are to be imposed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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