Pakistani father-son duo on board missing 'Titanic sub'

A submarine on a tourism expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, carrying five individuals, has gone missing off the coast of southeastern Canada.

Two Pakistani passengers, a father and son, were part of the five-member expedition team, reports Dawn.

According to reports, the Dawood family has issued a statement confirming that they had lost communication with two family members, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman,  who were on board the mission.

"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 statement said.

Shahzada Dawood is a trustee at the SETI Insti­tute, based in the UK. He is currently the vice chairman of Engro Corporation which he joined in 2003.

OceanGate Expeditions said in a brief statement on Monday that it was "mobilising all options" to rescue those on board the vessel, says Dawn.

The submersible lost contact at 4am on Sunday and has been underwater well over 24 hours.

Hamish Hard­ing, a British national and Dubai-based billionaire, is also onboard according to a Facebook post made by his stepson who wrote that Harding had "gone missing on submarine" and asked for "thoughts and prayers".

In a statement, Ocean­Gate said: "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have recei­v­­ed from several governm­ent agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible."

"It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area," US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters on Monday.

"We are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board," he said. "Going into this evening we will continue to fly aircraft and move additional vessels."

The expedition, which costs $250,000 per person, starts in St. John's, Newfoundland, before heading out approximately 400 miles (640km) into the Atlantic to the wreckage site, according to OceanGate's website.