The stepson of the British billionaire missing aboard the tourist submarine that vanished on an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic has defended his decision to attend a Blink-182 concert only hours after news of the disaster broke.
Brian Szasz took to social media to confirm that he was the stepson of Hamish Harding, adding that he had vanished along with the submarine exploring the depths of the Atlantic on Sunday.
Only 20 minutes later, he shared a picture of himself attending Blink-182's San Diego gig.
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He captioned the post: ''It might be distasteful being here but my family would want me to be at the Blink-182 show as it’s my favourite band and music helps me in difficult times!"
An earlier post by Szasz confirmed in a post that his stepfather was one of the missing.
"Hamish my stepdad is lost in a submarine thoughts and prayers that the rescue mission will be successful," he wrote on Facebook.
He later shared a post that read: "For privacy, my mom asked me to delete all related posts thanks for the support."
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His Blink-182 concert snaps have now been removed.
But, as per the New York Post, friends of Szasz flocked to comment on the now-deleted post in support of his decision to attend the gig.
One person wrote: "They would absolutely want you to be there and enjoying yourself. Obviously, your thoughts are with them. They know that!"
A second added: "Every moment matters. Life doesn’t stop for anyone. You have to keep living."
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There are a total of five souls missing on board the lost submersible.
Including Hamish Harding; those missing include OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Paul-Henry Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman.
The vessel vanished during its descent on Sunday (June 18) while en route to the Titanic wreckage and has not been seen since.
In an update, the US Coast Guard said that despite the enormous amount of resources put into the mission, 'to date, search efforts have not yielded any results'.
Captain Jamie Frederick, of the First Coast Guard District, said it was 'complex' and 'requires multiple agencies'.
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Harding's company, Dubai-based Action Aviation, said in a social media statement they have faith in the rescue mission currently scrambling to find their missing loved one and chairman.
"Both the Harding family and the team at Action Aviation are very grateful for all the kind messages of concern and support from our friends and colleagues," it said on Instagram.
"We are thankful for the continued efforts of the authorities and companies that have stepped in to aid in the rescue efforts. We put great faith and trust in their expertise."
Rachel Lang