Tycoon shares text messages of him declining cut-price tickets for him and son on doomed Titanic sub
A man who was offered the chance to be on the OceanGate submersible that went missing has revealed text messages outlining his conversations about joining the journey.
Search efforts to find the Titan submersible have found debris near the wreckage of the Titanic which they believe to have been part of the vessel.
Contact was lost with the OceanGate sub on 18 June after it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean towards the wreck of the infamous ship.
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Five people were on board, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
All five are now thought to have died after the timeline for the submersible running out of oxygen has passed and the discovery of the debris points towards it having 'imploded' and suffered from a 'catastrophic failure'.
Rear Admiral John Mauger of the US coastguard said that the bodies of the deceased may never be found and offered condolences to their families.
There were others who could have joined those five had circumstances been slightly different, including tycoon Jay Bloom who took to Facebook to say he'd been offered a place on the vessel himself.
He posted text messages between himself and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush where he was asked if he wanted to be on board the Titan submersible.
In one message Rush asks Bloom whether he'd like to reserve a place for May, with the usual price of $250,000 reduced to a 'last minute price' of $150,000.
Bloom posted that his son's friend had expressed some reservations about the safety of the journey and Rush tried to reassure him that things were safe.
In his Facebook post sharing the text messages he explained that he'd been offered a place on the submersible for what would turn out to be the doomed voyage.
He 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 continued to explain, outlining that when he met with OceanGate's CEO and they discussed the risks of the submersible he was told it would be 'safer than crossing the street'.
The seats he and his son might have taken on the Titan instead 'went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood'.
He ended his post by writing: "One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew. Tomorrow is never promised. Make the most of today."
Topics: Titanic, World News, US News
Joe Harker