Suleman Dawood: Aunt of teen who died in Titan sub tragedy claims he feared trip

The aunt of a teen who died on the Titan submersible while voyaging to the Titanic wreckage, has said the teenager was "very very not into doing it" but agreed to go as part of a Father's Day bonding experience.

Nineteen-year-old Suleman Dawood and his father, the British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, were on board the Titan when it was lost.

Authorities said the submersible suffered a "catastrophic implosion" at some point during the crew-of-five's dive to the shipwreck, operated by OceanGate Expeditions.

Speaking to NBC News, Azmeh Dawood, Mr Dawood's elder sister, said her nephew "had a sense" about the ill-fated trip.

"He had a sense about things and he had a sense this was not okay," she said.

"He was not very comfortable about doing it... He was very very not into doing it but it was a Father's Day thing, it was a bonding experience and he wanted the adventure of a lifetime just like his father did."

The elder Mr Dawood has been described as a "Titanic enthusiast" with a "years long passion for science and discovery."

"The thought of a 19-year-old trapped on that is just next level," Ms Dawood said about Suleman, who was reported to have been a student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

"The other crew members, they were there of all their own natures... But Suleman was just there for a Father's Day bonding experience."

The search and rescue operation was an international effort led by the US Coast Guard, with fleets of ships racing to the area the sub was last heard from around 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.

It also attracted global media attention as authorities were concerned the sub was intact and might be running out of its 96-hour oxygen supply.

"To be honest, as terrible as this sounds, at least knowing they wouldn't have had time to know," Ms Dawood said of the implosion.

"To know that my Sule didn't feel a moment's pain, that his brain didn't even realise... I never thought I would question every breath of air I took because I was just thinking, 'Oh my God, how dare I breathe, when my Sule can't?'"

But for her brother, she said, "he fulfilled his dream in an extraordinary way."

"For Shahzada... He's become part of the Titanic legend.

"In those terms it could be nothing greater, because when people look back at the history of the Titanic, they'll still come up."

Ms Dawood became visibly emotional towards the end of the interview, and broke down in tears.

"But on a personal level for his beautiful life and his precious daughter.

"And for Suleman, he was an angel, and he was such a precious angel that heaven couldn't do without him."

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