‘I was invited to this very Titan ill-fated adventure, but I was tied down with national duties’
A Nigerian Senator representing Delta North District, Ned Nwoko, has narrated how he could have been one of the people on board the ill-fated Titan submarine that exploded on June 18, 2023.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Nwoko, husband of Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels, revealed that his friend, Hermish Harding, who is a pilot from the United Kingdom, invited him to the adventure.
Harding died with four others inside the submarine that exploded in the North Atlantic Ocean, while en route to view the wreck of the Titanic ship.
Nwoko paid tributes to Harding, adding that if not for national duties he would have also been in the submarine.
He shared photos of himself and the late pilot when they both embarked on an expedition to Antarctica.
“I have lost a very dear friend and business partner. Captain Hermish Harding. We both went on a very dangerous expedition to the Southpole Antarctica few years back.
“He was a gulf stream pilot who flew across the world in a record-breaking expedition by Guinness world record for circumnavigation of the earth some years ago.
“He descended into the Mariana. he also invited me on his space shuttle last year and this very Titan ill-fated adventure, but I was tied down with national duties.
“Above all he was a partner on the various researches into eradication of malaria in Africa project.
“He was very enthusiastic about it and always gave his support at every given opportunity. His last message to me was this last Sunday when he told me they were ready to dive to the titanic if the weather permits.
“He loved adventure and challenges. My heart bleeds for his dear wife and kids who have become family friends over the years. We will surely miss his wealth of experience,” he wrote alongside the photo.
Harding and four others who went on the ill-fated adventure paid £200,000 each for the trip.
The Titanic submersible went missing after it dived on Sunday. It was reportedly said to have suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion, which led to all five passengers on board missing.
A catastrophic implosion is an instance of something collapsing violently inward. The implosion made what was supposed to be a 10-hour tour of the Titanic shipwreck, the famous ship, to end in tragedy.
The submersible passengers include OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 18-year-old son Suleman Dawood.
According to CNN, CNN said The submersible, known as “Titan,” started its two-and-a-half-hour trip early Sunday and lost contact with its mother ship, the Polar Prince, an hour and 45 minutes into the journey.
