A father and son who gave up their two tickets on the doomed Titan submersible say the OceanGate CEO flew on an ‘experimental’ plane to convince them to buy tickets.
Financier Jay Bloom had turned down tickets aboard the submersible for him and his son Sean after fearing they wouldn’t survive the trip.
Speaking to NewsNation, Bloom said that concerns had been raised after OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who coordinated the voyage, flew to Las Vegas to convince him aboard an ‘experimental plane’.
Blood told the news channel: ‘It was very concerning. The major red flag for my son was when Stockton came to see me in Las Vegas in March.
‘He said he was flying in in a two seater experimental plane that he built so he was coming to Las Vegas on an experimental plane that he built to take me on an experimental sub that he built to take me to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.’
Bloom, pictured here, had been considering going on the doomed submersible but major red flags caused him to back out of the adventure
Jay Bloom and his son Sean (pictured together) were close to going on the doomed Titan voyage to the Titanic – and were even offered a last-minute discount
The Titan submersible, pictured here, imploded earlier this week with five men on board
Bloom continued: ‘It’s kind of surreal. Every time I see a picture of the people who lost their lives on this tragic event.
‘I look at the picture of the father and son who replaced my son and myself and think how easily but for the grace of god that could have been our picture on the news.
‘When Stockton first approached me with the idea it sounded very sexy, very exciting, a real bucket list kind of item.
‘My son is a big fan of the Titanic, so I thought it would be great for us to do something together. The allure of the proposition is so compelling.
‘My son talked to his friend and they voiced concerns, about the vessel, the marine life, some of the materials that were used in the construction.’
Bloom had previously shared texts between himself and Rush showing how he and his son were offered a ‘last minute price’ of $150,000 a head to take the voyage.
In a Facebook post he said: ‘I expressed safety concerns and Stockton told me: “While there’s obviously risk – it’s way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving”.
‘He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street. I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong’.
Mr Bloom said: ‘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.
Mr Rush speaks to Mr Bloom about taking part in one of his firm’s trips to the Titanic wreck
The sub lost communication with its operator, OceanGate Expeditions, less than two hours into its dive to the shipwreck last Sunday, with five people on board.
A large-scale rescue operation including planes and a fleet of vessels had been scrambled to the area 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada, as oxygen supplies in the sub dwindled.
One of Pakistan’s richest men, Shahzada Dawood, was on board the vessel alongside his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO Rush and French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
The search for the men of the 21ft submersible drew to a devastating close when a remote operated submarine from a Canadian ship found debris on the ocean floor.
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was on the sub along with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
Five people had been on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding (left) and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who was just 19
‘The implosion would have generated a significant, broadband sound that the sonar buoys would have picked up,’ explained Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US Coast Guard at a press conference today.
It would have been an instant death for the men, some of whom had paid $250,000 each to see the famous shipwreck.
In a gut-wrenching blow for their families, experts say there is little prospect of recovering any of their remains.
‘This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there. The debris is consistent of a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.. we’ll continue to work and search the area down there – but I don’t have an answer for prospects at this time,’ Paul Hankin, a deep sea expert involved in the search, said.
