It has come to light that the five occupants on board the fatal Titan submersible spent their final minutes admiring bioluminescent organisms in the depths while listening to music in complete darkness.
On June 18, they descended to the Titanic debris around eight in the morning.
At 9:45 am, an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, contact was lost.
It is now known that the American Navy heard an implosion at that time. Debris from the sub was discovered on the ocean floor five days later, 1,600 feet from the stern of the Titanic.
Those on board, including Stockton Rush, 61, the CEO of the company that organised the expedition, P.H. Nargeolet, 77, a 58-year-old British billionaire adventurer, and Shahzada Dawood, 48, and Suleman Dawood, 19, a father and son, were probably killed instantly and had no idea what was happening.
Christine Dawood, Shahzada’s wife and Suleman’s mother, spoke to The New York Times on Sunday about the last ascent before the drop.
Along with her 17-year-old daughter Alina, she took the mothership Polar Prince on their journey.
Dawood claimed that on June 15, in the middle of the night, they boarded the mothership at the harbor in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and sailed off to the dive site.
She stated that briefings with scientific presentations and debate about the wreckage and the trip were held at 7 am and 7 pm.
A “low-residue diet” the day before the dive and no coffee the morning of one were advised to those getting ready to undertake the drop because it could get cold at the depths.
Only a bottle or camp-style toilet concealed behind a curtain served as the only toilet on board.
Although Rush forbade country music, the passengers were instructed to download their favourite songs on their phones and play them through Bluetooth speakers.
The headlights were off to conserve battery life for when they arrived at the sea floor, so he also cautioned them that the descent would be in complete darkness.
However, they were informed that they would probably encounter bioluminescent animals.
