Vice-Chairman of Engro Corporation Limited Shahzada Dawood in this undated handout picture. Courtesy of Engro Corporation Limited/ReutersBill Diamond, a friend of missing submersible passengers Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman Dawood, said he still has hope after seeing the news that banging sounds were picked up Tuesday from the Atlantic Ocean during the search for the sub.
"I guess I was elated on one hand. On the other hand, certainly, I'm aware if they are alive and OK, that fear and desperation must be just something unimaginable. But it is certainly very helpful news, and we continue to hope for an amazing outcome here," said Diamond, CEO of SETI Institute, where Shahzada Dawood is a trustee.Diamond said he had recently seen Dawood at a board meeting, and he was excitedly discussing his trip on the submersible to tour the Titanic's wreckage.Dawood is an "extremely intelligent individual, a very humble man, perpetually curious — that's the driving force behind wanting to go on this expedition. I think surely he was aware of the risks, and was certainly aware that undertaking a manned dive to this kind of depth in submersible, is a dangerous undertaking. But he didn't really dwell on that or talk much about it at the time," he said."I never thought of him as a daredevil in any sense. Again, somebody who I think, understanding the risks, would be willing to do something that some might consider extreme, just to satisfy those curiosities and callings," Diamond added.
Along with the Dawoods, British businessman Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush have been confirmed to be on board the craft.
