Missing Titanic sub: Who is the wealthy Pakistani businessman on board the vessel?

Shahzada Dawood — one of the richest men in Pakistan — and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman are among those on board the submersible craft that went missing on its way to exploring the wreckage of Titanic, Engro Corporation has confirmed.

The corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in the South Asian country, issued a statement, saying that its vice-chairman and his son did embark on the expedition.

"All that we have so far is that contact was lost with their submersible craft. There is limited information available beyond this that we know, and we humbly request that speculation and theorisation are avoided,” the company said on its Twitter account.

The submersible — which was also carrying Dubai-based British billionaire Hamish Harding — went missing off the coast of Newfoundland.

Shahzada has been to Dubai on multiple occasions for business deals. One of his latest visits was during the Expo 2020 when he took part in a panel discussion on technological innovation and sustainable practices for food security.

Engro Corp said rescue efforts are under way, with different agencies and deep-sea companies working together to find and bring home the British-Pakistani national and the other members of the vessel's crew.

“Prayers for their safety and privacy for the family are requested during this testing time. We, at Engro, remain in prayer for their swift and safe return,” the company said.

Tara Uzra Dawood, a cousin of Shazada Dawood, asked people to pray for her relatives.

“Please pray for my cousin Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman – 70 hours of oxygen left in the submarine and they are still trying to locate the vessel which went missing,” she said in a Facebook message.

Prior to becoming vice-chairman on October 2021, Shahzada was director and vice-chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation.

Shahzada was also a trustee for nearly two and a half years of the non-profit research organisation SETI Institute, which explores and explains the origin and nature of life in the universe.