The occupants of the missing submersible, lost on its journey to visit the legendary Titanic wreck, include two billionaires, a renowned explorer, and a diver with extensive knowledge of the Titanic, among others. Authorities reported losing contact with the vessel - comparable in size to a minivan - on Sunday, roughly one hour and forty-five minutes into its deep-sea descent.
Despite authorities withholding official passenger names, British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, Pakistani tycoons Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood, and esteemed French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet are known to be aboard. The fifth passenger is believed to be Stockton Rush, CEO and founder of the expedition's orchestrating company, Ocean Gate, as per an insider.
Hamish Harding, who resides in the UAE and has an impressive portfolio of extraordinary adventures, chairs Action Aviation, an aircraft brokerage firm. The company confirmed his presence aboard the submersible via a social media statement. The adventure enthusiast holds numerous records, including a 2019 world record for the fastest globe circumnavigation via both poles. In 2020, he ventured to the deepest point in the world's oceans, Challenger Deep, in the Pacific. Harding even bought a ticket for a Blue Origin space flight, the cost of which remains undisclosed.
Moreover, Harding, a trustee of the New York-based The Explorers Club, has participated in two South Pole expeditions. In 2016, he accompanied astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who became the oldest individual to reach the South Pole, and in 2020, he accompanied his son Giles, who became the youngest.
In a social media announcement preceding the vessel's disappearance, Harding expressed pride in joining the OceanGate Expeditions for the RMS Titanic mission as a mission specialist.
Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman, are prominent Pakistani business magnates, leading the Dawood Hercules Corporation, one of Pakistan's largest conglomerates with interests spanning energy, petrochemicals, fertilizers, IT, and food and agriculture.
Harding also named Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a diver with decades of experience exploring the Titanic, as a team member on his Facebook post.
Nargeolet's biography on RMS Titanic Inc's website reveals that he has completed 35 dives to the Titanic wreck and has overseen the recovery of 5,000 artifacts. David Gallo, a colleague at RMS Titanic Inc., expressed shock at the incident but affirmed that "everything that can be done, is being done."
Finally, Ocean Gate's CEO, Stockton Rush, who has previously piloted the now missing vessel, "Titan," is also among the missing. The world now watches in anticipation as rescue efforts for these remarkable individuals continue.