On Friday, while grieving over his friend and partner, Hamish Harding, a passenger in the ill-fated Titan submersible, Nigerian politician Ned Nwoko revealed that he was invited to join the tour of the famous Titanic Ship wreckage.
Mr Harding, a British businessman, explorer, and multiple-Guinness World Record holder, including one for the longest time spent traversing the deepest part of the ocean on a single dive, was one of the five people who died aboard the imploded submersible.
The politician took to his verified Instagram handle and explained why he couldn’t make the Titanic tour despite the invitation. He also eulogised Mr Harding while recounting adventures they had explored together.
Late Harding, and his teenage son, Giles, joined Mr Nwoko during his January 2020 expedition to Antarctica alongside a team of scientists from Russia, India, China, the U.S., and the UK.
Mr Nwoko said he aimed to use the global attention the expedition attracted to create Awareness of Malaria Eradication in Africa.
His tribute read, “I have lost a dear friend and business partner. Captain Hamish Harding. We both went on a dangerous expedition to Southpole, Antarctica, a few years back. He was a gulf stream pilot who flew across the world in a record-breaking expedition by the Guinness world record to circumnavigate 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 in the various pieces of research into eradicating malaria in Africa project.”
Mr Nwoko recalled Mr Harding’s last message as regards the tour before they went on the journey on Sunday. He extended his family’s condolences to Harding’s family as well.
“He was very enthusiastic about it and always gave his support at every given opportunity. His last message to me was this Sunday when he told me they were ready to dive into 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. We will surely miss his wealth of experience,’’ he said.
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.
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.
Also, the United States Coast Guard announced recently that the tail cone and other debris from the missing submersible were found by a remotely operated vehicle about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, which rests about 13,000 feet deep in the North Atlantic Ocean.
In 2020, Mr Ned, through his foundation, Ned Nwoko Foundation, embarked on a multi-million naira Malaria Eradication Project.
He left for the Atartica Expedition, where he met with renowned scientists from Russia, India, China, the UK and the United States of America.
Alongside Harding and his son, Giles, the politician set out to visit the south pole in an upgraded 1943 DC3 turboprop aircraft.
The expedition made Harding’s son the youngest person to visit the South Pole, while Mr Nwoko was the second Nigerian.
Arthur Nwabufo, a navigator and cadet at the Far Eastern State Technical Fisheries University, Russia, was the first Nigerian to reach Antarctica in 2019.
They embarked on the journey from the coast of Antarctica on the Cape Town side of the continent and arrived on 12th January 2020. After reaching their destination, the team unfurled a Nigerian flag at the pole boldly written with the words “Let’s Eradicate Malaria in Africa.”
The Antarctica Expedition by the trio aimed to gather relevant and researched ideas on completely eradicating the Malaria scourge from Africa.
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