A 'Terrified' Teen and a Maritime Legend: Tributes Pour in for Titanic Sub Victims - The Daily Beast

Suleman Dawood did not want to go on the minivan-sized deep sea submersible to explore the shipwrecked Titanic on Sunday.

In fact, according to his paternal aunt, he was “terrified.”

But the 19-year-old, who had just finished his first year at Strathclyde Business School in Glasgow, Scotland, knew the dangerous expedition was important to Pakistani tycoon father, 49-year-old Shahzada Dawood. So even though he “wasn’t very up for it” and had expressed his concerns to another family member, Suleman joined his lifelong Titanic obsessive father and four other strangers on the $250,000-a-head voyage to the wreck, located 400 miles off Newfoundland this weekend.

“If you gave me a million dollars, I would not have gotten into the Titan,” Azmeh Dawood, Shahzada’s sister, told NBC on Thursday.

Dawood’s harrowing confession comes after the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday confirmed that all five people aboard the Titan are believed to be dead after the missing vessel suffered a “catastrophic implosion.” Officials say the tail cone of the submarine was found about 1,600 feet from the bow of the RMS Titanic and that the “catastrophic loss of pressure chamber” would have killed all aboard instantly.

The tragic news comes after a days-long search for the vessel that lost contact with its support ship less than two hours into the expedition, which was organized by OceanGate Expeditions. Those aboard the boat included Suleman and his father; OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; British businessman Hamish Harding; and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

“I feel very bad that the whole world has had to go through so much trauma, so much suspense,” Dawood added. “I feel like I’ve been caught in a really bad film, with a countdown, but you didn’t know what you’re counting down to.”

For friends and family of Nargeolet, who was affectionately referred to as “Mr. Titanic” because of his reputation as a veteran explorer of the famous shipwreck, his decision to take a trip to see the site wasn’t unusual. The 77-year-old had already been on over 35 dives to the site and worked for RMS Titanic, which owns the salvage rights to the boat.

So when Nargeolet’s daughter, Sidone Nargeolet, learned that her father was among the five people in the missing submersible, she said she instantly filled with “a lot of stress, very mixed emotions.” Speaking to Reuters prior to Thursday’s grim confirmation about the Titan, Sidone said that her father knew “how to react to problems” in a submarine and that she was confident he was handling the situation well.

"Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, and Stockton Rush."

Engro Corporation Limited/Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

​​”What he liked the most was to be in a submarine, [near] the Titanic,” she said. “He is where he really loved being. I would prefer him [dying] at a place where he is happy.”

Matt Tulloch, who met Nargeolet while working for RMS Titanic in the 1990s, stressed to the Connecticut New Times on Thursday that his friend was “a consummate professional and in many ways, a legend in exploration.”

“Our hearts are with the families and friends of those aboard the submersible as we are collectively and individually mourning the loss of our long-term employee and colleague Paul Henri ‘PH’ Nargeolet,” the RMS Titan organization said in a Thursday statement. “The maritime world has lost an iconic and inspirational leader in deep-sea exploration, and we have lost a dear and treasured friend.”

The Explorers Club, where Harding and Nargelot were members, also issued a statement on Thursday saying their “hearts are broken” over the “tragic news” of the failed expedition. Prior to the news of the imploded Titan, the stepson of Harding also took to social media to discuss his feelings about the submarine.

“This whole situation is a fucking nightmare though, everything about it, especially what Hamish is going through down there, it’s just fucking God awful,” he said. “I haven’t slept in days, it’s not about me, obviously just too worried about my mom and the situation.”

Denise Reiss, who had been on several expeditions with Rush before, also paid tribute to the OceanGate CEO. In multiple posts on Facebook, Reiss—wife of former “The Simpson’s” showrunner Michael Reiss, called Rush “careful and brilliant, tackling the limits of what was possible.”

“We are grievously sorry for his death on the way down to Titanic,” she added.

"Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet."

Jannicke Mikkelsen via Reuters/HarperCollins France via Reuters

For Mohad Malik, the tragic news of Thursday was a grim confirmation of what he already believed about the fate of his friend, Shahzada Dawood.

“I kind of had accepted it already..I wasn’t optimistic,” Malik, a 30-year-old based in London, told The Daily Beast. “I thought it would end up being more of a recovery mission, not a rescue mission.”

He also noted that others close to the Dawoods felt a sense of false hope after search crews heard underwater “banging noises” on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Officials on Thursday, however, said that the noises didn’t come from near where the Titan was eventually found and there was no connection to the submarine.

“My parents have spoken to the family, and they were very optimistic for a while, and now they’re shattered,” Malik added. “They were obviously shell-shocked when it first happened. And then they heard the news about the noises.”

Malik also paid tribute to his family friend, who he was fortunate enough to have forged his own relationship with. Noting that Shahzada was “one of those guys that really think outside the box ...like an Elon Musk of Pakistan,” he added that the businessman took pride in being very close with his teenage son.

“He was very close to his son. He dropped him off to university last year, and the entire family was very close knit,” Malik added.

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Tropical Storm Bret Pushes Through The Lesser Antilles | Weather.com - The Weather Channel

• Tropical Storm Bret is arriving in the Caribbean.
• Tropical Depression Four has formed in the Central Atlantic.
• This is very unusual for June, as most June storms develop in the Gulf of Mexico or off the East Coast.

Tropical Storm Bret is spreading into the Lesser Antilles and Tropical Depression Four is located farther east in the Central Atlantic.

L​atest On Bret

Here's where Bret is right now: Bret's center is now pushing into the eastern Caribbean.

W​inds have gusted as high as 52 mph at Grantley Adams International Airport on the southern end of Barbados east of the island's capital, Bridgetown.

B​ret's worst weather will likely come after its center passes through the islands as wind shear is sweeping much of its thunderstorm activity to the east of its center.

T​he National Hurricane Center began issuing forecast advisories on this system late Monday morning, as it had enough low-level spin and thunderstorms near it to be designated a tropical cyclone.

Bret will continue on its current path: Bret's intensity leveled off Thursday after nearing hurricane strength Wednesday night.

Bret will continue on its westerly track over the next few days.

It is expected to weaken in the eastern Caribbean Sea where it will encounter increasingly hostile winds. The National Hurricane Center forecast calls for Bret to dissipate sometime this weekend.

Current Status And Forecast Path

(The red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. It's important to note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding, winds) with any tropical cyclone usually spread beyond its forecast path.)

B​ret is a threat to the Lesser Antilles. On its path, Bret will sweep through parts of the Lesser Antilles into early Friday.

The storm will bring strong wind gusts, heavy rain and dangerous waves to the Lesser Antilles.

Rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches, with up to 10 inches possible are expected across portions of the Lesser Antilles from Guadeloupe south to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, including Barbados, according to the National Hurricane Center. The heavy rainfall could lead to flash flooding, especially across areas of higher terrain.

(This should be interpreted as a broad outlook of where the heaviest rain may fall and may shift based on the forecast path of the tropical cyclone. Higher amounts may occur where bands of rain stall over a period of a few hours. )

A​ hurricane watch remains in effect for St. Lucia, where hurricane conditions are possible in the next 24 hours if Bret briefly becomes a hurricane.

Otherwise, tropical storm warnings are in effect for Dominica, St. Lucia, Martinique, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Warnings are issued when the specified condition - tropical storm or hurricane - is expected within the warning area within 36 hours. Watches are typically issued when those conditions are possible within the watch area in the next 48 hours.

Watches, Warnings

(A watch is issued when tropical storm or hurricane conditions are possible within 48 hours. A warning is issued when those conditions are expected within 36 hours.)

B​ret won't threaten the mainland United States given the forecast calls for its dissipation in the Caribbean.

Tropical Depression Four

Tropical Depression Four is moving west-northwestward after forming early Thursday. This system is expected to strengthen to a tropical storm in the next day or so. It will be named Cindy when it becomes a tropical storm.

F​or now, it's no immediate threat to land and is expected to turn toward the northwest over the next few days. If it remains on that northwest path, it would track north of the Leeward Islands early next week. But interests in the Leeward Islands should continue to monitor this forecast over the next several days.

Current Status And Forecast Path

(The red-shaded area denotes the potential path of the center of the tropical cyclone. It's important to note that impacts (particularly heavy rain, high surf, coastal flooding, winds) with any tropical cyclone usually spread beyond its forecast path.)

Record ocean warmth is providing fuel. One factor that has contributed to the development of Bret and Tropical Depression Four is ocean warmth. A​ll other factors equal, warmer ocean water can provide more fuel for tropical systems to intensify.

O​ver the strip of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Lesser Antilles is an area known as the "main development region" (MDR), where many intense hurricanes get their start. Ocean temperatures there have smashed mid-June records. Water temperatures near Cabo Verde and points west into the central tropical Atlantic are generally in the low 80s, which is sufficient heating for tropical development.

WPLG-TV hurricane expert Michael Lowry noted these sea-surface temperatures are more typical of the heart of hurricane season - early September - rather than June. Water temperatures in the proximity of this system are 2 to 5 degrees above average.

That's due in part to lighter than usual trade winds from a weaker than average Bermuda-Azores high, according to Brian McNoldy, tropical scientist at the University of Miami.

This is a weird place for storms to develop in June. Only about 6% of all storms form in June.

O​f the June storms that do form, the overwhelming majority form in the Gulf of Mexico or just off the East Coast.

O​nly three of 79 June storms since the 19th century have formed east of the Lesser Antilles, according to NOAA's database.

F​urthermore, there is no record of two storms active at once in June east of the Antilles. So, if we have both Tropical Storm Bret and Tropical Storm Cindy, that would be unprecedented for that part of the Atlantic Basin in June.

T​wo of those formed in the past six years. What would later become Hurricane Elsa first became a tropical storm just hours before June ended in 2021. Tropical Storm Bret in 2017 was a short-lived storm that eventually fizzled after soaking Trinidad and Tobago. Tropical Storm Ana in 1979 was the only other such June MDR storm in NOAA's database.

Tracks of all tropical storms, subtropical storms and hurricanes in June from 1842 through 2022. Few have formed during June in the main development region between the Lesser Antilles and Africa.

(NOAA/NHC)

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been an incurable weather geek since a tornado narrowly missed his childhood home in Wisconsin at age 7. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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31 dead after gas explosion at barbecue restaurant in China - CNN

CNN  — 

At least 31 people are dead and seven injured in the Chinese city of Yinchuan, in northwest Ningxia region, after a gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant Wednesday night, according to state media.

The explosion was caused by a leak of a liquified gas tank inside the restaurant, and took place around 8:40 p.m., according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Among the seven injured, one person is still in critical condition. The other six are being treated in the hospital for minor injuries, burns and glass cuts.

Local fire authorities sent 20 vehicles and more than 100 personnel to the scene, with search and rescue operations lasting until 4 a.m. Thursday morning, according to state media.

Photos posted by state media show the damaged building, with blackened exteriors, debris on the ground and smoke in the air. Firefighters are seen entering the second floor on a ladder and lifting people out on stretchers.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called the explosion “heartbreaking,” and said it was a “profound lesson.” He has issued instructions to authorities on the scene, requiring “all efforts” to treat the injured, strengthen safety supervision and protect residents’ safety, according to CCTV.

Interviews by police and firefighters on the scene established that two restaurant staffers had smelled gas about an hour before the explosion, said the Yinchuan government in a statement posted online on Thursday.

The two staffers found the valve of the gas tank had broken, and sent another staff member to buy a new one. The explosion took place as the valve was being replaced.

Police have detained nine people and frozen their assets, including the restaurant’s manager, employees and shareholders, according to state media China Youth Daily.

The restaurant is located on a busy street, state media reported. The incident came just before China began its three-day national public holiday, from Thursday to Saturday, marking the Dragon Boat Festival.

The country has been rocked by a number of safety incidents this year. A coal mine collapse in Inner Mongolia in February left 53 dead; then in April, the deadliest fire to hit Beijing in two decades killed 29 people in a hospital.

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31 dead after gas explosion at barbecue restaurant in China - CNN
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31 dead after gas explosion at barbecue restaurant in China - CNN

CNN  — 

At least 31 people are dead and seven injured in the Chinese city of Yinchuan, in northwest Ningxia region, after a gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant Wednesday night, according to state media.

The explosion was caused by a leak of a liquified gas tank inside the restaurant, and took place around 8:40 p.m., according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Among the seven injured, one person is still in critical condition. The other six are being treated in the hospital for minor injuries, burns and glass cuts.

Local fire authorities sent 20 vehicles and more than 100 personnel to the scene, with search and rescue operations lasting until 4 a.m. Thursday morning, according to state media.

Photos posted by state media show the damaged building, with blackened exteriors, debris on the ground and smoke in the air. Firefighters are seen entering the second floor on a ladder and lifting people out on stretchers.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called the explosion “heartbreaking,” and said it was a “profound lesson.” He has issued instructions to authorities on the scene, requiring “all efforts” to treat the injured, strengthen safety supervision and protect residents’ safety, according to CCTV.

The restaurant is located on a busy street, state media reported. The incident came just before China began its three-day national public holiday, from Thursday to Saturday, marking Dragon Boat Festival.

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Ukraine's Offensive Slows Down Zelensky Says as Kyiv Rethinks Approach - The Wall Street Journal

Ukrainian forces are proceeding more slowly than planned in their offensive to retake occupied areas, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged, as military commanders said they are taking time to reassess tactics, adjusting to Russia’s extensive minefields and attacks from the air.

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Orca attacks yacht near Scotland marking first incident in North Sea - USA TODAY

An orca hit a seven-ton yacht carrying a 72-year-old multiple times on Monday off the Shetland Islands in Scotland, the sailor told The Guardian.

Retired Dutch physicist Dr Wim Rutten said he was sailing solo from the town Lerwick to Bergen, Norway, according to the Guardian. While fishing for mackerel off the back of the boat, Rutten said he came face to face with an orca that he initially saw through the clear water. The mammal soon repeatedly rammed the stern of the boat.

“What I felt most frightening was the very loud breathing of the animal,” Rutten told the Guardian.

The University of Twente professor said the whale stayed behind the boat and then disappeared before returning faster two or three times and later circling him, according to the Guardian. He added the mammal created “soft shocks” through the aluminum hull.

Orcas attacking boats: Spain's coast are seeing more killer whales touch, push and even turn vessels

Incident follows aggressive behavior near Spain, Portugal

Rutten said he immediately thought of the recent orca attacks on Spanish and Portuguese coasts. The Strait of Gibraltar waters were home to 20 orca incidents last month, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group and orcas have sunk three boats in Southern Europe since last summer.

The Atlantic Orca Working Group reported over 500 orca boat interactions from 2020 to 2023 yet Rutten’s encounter marks the first recent incident reported in the northern seas.

“Maybe he just wanted to play. Or look me in the eyes. Or to get rid of the fishing line,” Rutten said.

USA TODAY has reached out to Rutten for additional comment.

Experts say the orcas could be teaching each other to adapt this behavior. Juvenile Iberian killer whales — a "unique subpopulation of killer whales that lives in the northeast Atlantic," — were first documented touching, pushing, and even turning vessels, including some fishing and inflatable boats, in 2020, according to research group GT Orca Atlántica.

Andrew Trites, professor and director of Marine Mammal Research at the University of British Columbia, told CBS News the reason for the attacks remains to be an “unprecedented” mystery. Trites said something is positively reinforcing the orcas’ behavior suggesting that it’s possible they’re engaging in form of whale “play” or that they’re reacting to traumatic boat injuries.

"Yes they're killer whales. And yes their job is they're the apex predator in the ocean. However, there's never been a documented case of an orca attacking and killing a human being," whale expert Anne Gordon told USA Today in May, adding that the attacks are isolated incidents. "In normal circumstances there is absolutely zero threat to humans in a boat."

Experts recently gathered to address an "urgent need for specific actions based on international coordination between administrations, mariners and scientists to prevent future damage to people, orcas and vessels," GTOA said.

Cetacean clash: Photos capture group of orcas attacking a gray whale calf along the Oregon Coast

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All hail the rising sun! Stonehenge welcomes 8000 visitors for the summer solstice - The Associated Press

STONEHENGE, England (AP) — All hail the rising sun.

Around 8,000 revelers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun.

Druids, pagans, hippies, local residents and tourists, many clad in an array of colorful costumes and even antlers, stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted sunrise on Wednesday, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

At dawn, the sun rose behind what is known as the Heel Stone in the northeast part of the horizon and the first rays shone into the heart of Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and a World Heritage Site.

A sun-filled dawn followed a slightly misty sunrise, which was greeted with drumming, chanting and cheering.

“Stonehenge continues to captivate and to bring people together to celebrate the seasons, just as it has done for thousands of years,” said Nichola Tasker, director of Stonehenge at English Heritage, a charity that manages hundreds of historic sites.

“There was a wonderful atmosphere from sunset to sunrise, and everybody enjoyed a very atmospheric morning,” she added.

Local police said two people were arrested on suspicion of a public order offense after they were refused entry due to intoxication.

“Everyone has been joyous, enjoying the event and having a glorious time and it has been peaceful and safe,” said Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Catherine Roper, who attended the solstice for the first time.

In addition to the 8,000 people present, English Heritage said that approximately 154,000 people tuned in from around the world to watch the sunset and sunrise on the charity’s livestream.

All over the U.K., optimism will reign supreme as summer officially starts. It’s no coincidence that the nearby Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s biggest music events, opens its doors on Wednesday, too. Both Stonehenge and Glastonbury supposedly lie on ley lines — mystical energy connections across the U.K.

For the thousands making the pilgrimage to Stonehenge, approximately 80 miles (128 kilometers) southwest of London, it is more than looking forward to Elton John at Glastonbury or a few ciders in the sun. Many of those present at Stonehenge will be making the short 50-mile (80-kilometer) journey further west to Glastonbury over the coming days.

For druids, modern-day spiritualists linked to the ancient Celtic religious order, Stonehenge has a centuries-long importance, and they performed their rituals around the solstice in their traditional white robes. It’s effectively all about the cycle of life, of death and rebirth.

This year, the summer solstice at Stonehenge started at 7 p.m. Tuesday and ran through 8 a.m. Wednesday. For this one night, worshippers are allowed to spend time inside the stone circle. Some chanted or played their acoustic guitars or banged their drums. Alcohol was prohibited, as were sound systems. Blankets were allowed, but no sleeping bags, please. And definitely, no climbing on the stones.

The rules have been tightened over the decades, certainly during the coronavirus pandemic. Back in the less-restrained past, tens of thousands would travel by foot, car, bus or motorcycle to worship at the solar temple, or just have a bit of fun.

Stonehenge is a symbol of British culture and history and remains one of the country’s biggest tourist draws, despite the seemingly permanent traffic jams on the nearby A303 highway, a popular route for motorists traveling to and from the southwest of England.

Stonehenge was built on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in stages starting 5,000 years ago, with the unique stone circle erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C. Some of the stones, the so-called bluestones, are known to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles (240 kilometers) away, but the origins of others remain a mystery.

The site’s meaning has been the subject of vigorous debate, with some theories seemingly more outlandish, if not alien, than others.

English Heritage notes several explanations — from Stonehenge being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events.

The charity said the most generally accepted interpretation “is that of a prehistoric temple aligned with the movements of the sun.”

After all, the stones match perfectly with the sun at both the summer and winter solstices.

___

Pylas reported from London.

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