One of Pakistan's richest men and his son are aboard the OceanGate submarine that went missing while on a visit to the wreck of the Titanic, family members confirmed.
Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, are among five people aboard OceanGate Expedition's Titan submersible, which descended to the wreck of the Titanic on Sunday only to lose contact with the mother ship after nearly two hours.
"We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety while granting the family privacy at this time," the family said in a statement. "The family is well looked after and are praying to Allah for the safe return of their family members."
U.K. billionaire Hamish Harding is also aboard the craft, in addition to an OceanGate pilot. French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet, one of the leading experts on the Titanic, is also feared to be aboard the craft.
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Shahzada Dawood is among the richest men in Pakistan, with the majority of his family's wealth arising from the Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited. One of its subsidiaries, Engro Corporation, confirmed that Dawood was missing aboard the craft early Tuesday.
"All that we know so far is that contact was lost with their submersible craft," Engro wrote. "There is limited information available beyond this that we know, and we humbly request that speculation and theorization is avoided."
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to Fox News Digital that they were searching for a lost Titan submersible. Tourists had been able to charter the small craft for visits to the infamous ship through OceanGate Expeditions, which recently announced new mission crews for a North Atlantic trip on social media.
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The Titan craft has enough oxygen to keep five crew members alive for 96 hours beyond the launch, which means it would run out sometime Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard and Canada have launched multiple search parties for the craft, which may still be underwater.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
