Widow of Titanic Sub Victims Remembers Son Ahead of 19th Birthday

"I would like to think of them as part of the ocean now," Christine Dawood said

Christine Dawood’s husband and son were passengers among the ill-fated Titanic-bound submersible that went missing about 900 miles east of Cape Cod in the North Atlantic this past summer.

In her first in-depth interview, the widow told the Daily Mail about the last time she saw her loved ones, her family’s grief, and how she has been able to cope with the tragedy.

“When I dream of him, I can still feel that hug from him, and that made me quite angry, because I felt alone,” she told the outlet in a video interview shared on Friday. In the clip, footage of her late son played across the screen.

Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood were both "on a journey to visit the remnants of the Titanic in the Atlantic ocean" when the vessel went missing, their family previously said in a statement to the BBC.

They had been traveling on a June OceanGate expedition to see the famed sunken luxury liner along with company CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

Related: 'Titanic' Sub Passengers Died Due to 'Catastrophic' Pressure Implosion: Full Recap

“If they would’ve come back up, that would’ve been the story of a lifetime,” Christine continued.

Though no bodies were recovered, she added that she’s at peace with her late husband and son not having a grave, “because I would like to think of them as part of the ocean now.”

She added that ahead of the expedition, she didn’t have any apprehension for Shahzada and Suleman to go on the trip because there had never been a submersible accident that she was aware of.

Christine referred to her family as “glampers of explorers” and said that the morning of the dive, her husband’s face was “glowing” with excitement.

“He was really, really happy to go down. And Suleman was very happy,” she said with a smile.

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Her first inclination that there was a problem was when it was announced that the main ship had lost communication with the sub. “But we didn't lose hope until the Coast Guard actually told us that they found debris.”

Christine admitted that in the last seven months, there have been many times when she’s “just looked out in the ocean and cried.”

Her daughter Alina was 17 when the incident happened.

"The moment we knew they'd found debris and there were no survivors, Alina and I went on deck. Until that moment we'd had hope. We took some cushions with us and just sat there looking out at the ocean. We were both crying. I turned to her and said, 'I'm a widow now.' She said, 'Yes, and I'm a single child.' Then we cried even more.”

Christine said she chose to do the interview because Suleman’s birthday is coming up on Jan. 15 and she wants to remember him.

"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew," OceanGate previously said.

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