A US financier has revealed that he turned down a spot on the Titan submersible.
The Titan sub, owned and operated by OceanGate, disappeared shortly after it set off to find the remains of the Titanic on Sunday (18 June).
Speaking at a press conference yesterday (22 June), the US Coast Guard confirmed that debris from the sub had been found near to the wreckage of the Titanic that was ‘consistent with a catastrophic implosion’.
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Five people were on board the vessel at the time: OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
Following the tragic news, Las Vegas tycoon Jay Bloom took to Facebook to reveal that he had turned down a place on the expedition and shared text messages between himself and Rush, in which the CEO sought to reassure him that the sub was ‘safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving’.
Rush even offered Bloom the 'last minute price of $150,000' (£117,900) - instead of the usual $250,000 (£196,500).
In the post, Bloom wrote: “I decided to share some of my texts with Stockton Rush, the CEO and founder of OceanGate, the company that built and operated the sub, Titan, that we have all been following this last week.
“In February Stockton asked me and my son, Sean, to go with him on the dive to Titanic in May. Both May dives were postponed due to weather and the dive got delayed until June 18th, the date of this trip.”
Bloom went on to say that he had expressed safety concerns with Rush and was told: “While there's obviously risk it's way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving. There hasn't been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military subs.”
Bloom said he thought Rush ‘really believed what he was saying’ and that he ‘passionately believed in what he was doing’.
“The last time I saw Stockton in person was March 1st,” he went on.
“He took me through the Titanic Exhibit at Luxor. Then, at lunch in the Luxor food court we talked about the dive, including safety. He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street.
“I told him that due to scheduling we couldn’t go until next year. Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on this excursion (the fifth being Hamish Harding).
“One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew.”
Bloom ended his post with the words: “Tomorrow is never promised. Make the most of today.”
Topics: Titanic, World News, US News
Claire Reid