Tag: Engro Corporation

  • Suleman Dawood was ‘terrified’ before Titan trip, his aunt says

    Suleman Dawood was ‘terrified’ before Titan trip, his aunt says

    The late 19 year old Suleman Dawood, son of the late Shahzada Dawood, Vice-Chairman of Engro Corporation, was reportedly ‘terrified’ before his trip aboard the OceanGate submersible, according to his aunt Azmeh Dawood.

    In an interview with NBC news, Azmeh – Shahzada’s older sister – shared that the young Suleman had informed a relative prior to his voyage to see the Titanic wreckage that he “wasn’t very up for it” and “felt terrified”. 

    However, the trip tragically fell over Father’s Day weekend and young Suleman, eager to please Shahzada, ended up accompanying him. According to Azmeh, Shahzada was very passionate about the lore of the Titanic.

    She recalls her younger brother was “absolutely obsessed” with the Titanic from a young age, recounting the time when Shahzada met her husband and asked if they could sit down and watch a four-hour documentary about the Titanic. 

    Thus, she was hardly surprised when she learned that her brother had purchased tickets for the OceanGate mission.  

    The Dawood family released a statement on Twitter, announcing the death of their loved ones and extending their condolences to the families of the other departed passengers.

    A catastrophic implosion

    On the fourth day of the frantic search to find the OceanGate submersible before its oxygen supply ran, search parties discovered debris 1600 feet from the bow of the Titanic that were said to be part of the OceanGate craft. 

    The U.S. Coast Guard said the debris found on the seafloor was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.” All aboard have been presumed dead.

    A summary of events 

    The OceanGate submersible disappeared Sunday during a mission to survey the wreckage of the Titanic. 

    The Coast Guard said on Thursday that a “debris field” had been found in the search area. Today, it was confirmed that the debris found was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”

    A sound consistent with an implosion was heard Sunday, shortly after the submersible lost communications, according to a senior U.S. Navy official, reported by NBC. The sound was not definitive, the official said.

    James Cameron, director of the blockbuster film ‘Titanic’ and a prolific deep sea explorer, in an interview with CNN shared that he knew the vessel had likely imploded by Monday. He learned through his sources of a sound detected in the vicinity of the Titanic on Sunday. 

  • As the search continues, who are the two Pakistanis onboard the Titanic submersible?

    As the search continues, who are the two Pakistanis onboard the Titanic submersible?

    The OceanGate Titan submersible dominating global headlines lost connection and went missing an hour and forty minutes into its expedition on Sunday. 

    U.S. and Canadian navies, marine authorities and commercial deep-sea companies began a frantic search beneath the North Atlantic Ocean.

    It was confirmed through a statement by the Dawood family that Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman, were onboard the vessel.

    But who are the Dawoods? 

    The Dawoods are a prominent business family primarily based in Karachi. Shahzada’s grandfather, Seth Ahmed Dawood, migrated to Karachi from Bombay when the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947.

    He and his brothers started Dawood Corporation Ltd. In the following decades, Dawood founded several businesses and chaired companies in a plethora of industries including cotton, textiles, paper, consumer goods, oil, logistics, insurance, jute, chemicals, motorbikes, home appliances, electronics, and fertiliser industries in East and West Pakistan.

    Seth Ahmed Dawood was a major figure in the industrialisation of Karachi. Pakistan’s former president Ayub Khan would often consult Dawood on trade and industry affairs.

    Seth Ahmed Dawood with former president of Pakistan, Ayub Khan

    When Bangladesh achieved independence in 1971, Dawood lost his factories in Dhaka and Chittagong. Back home in Pakistan, the nationalisation process initiated by the government led to him losing his most profitable industrial projects. One of these projects, Dawood Petroleum Limited, became an official part of PSO (Pakistan State Oil) in 1974.

    In spite of the massive losses, Dawood continued to develop projects on a relatively smaller scale. The fertiliser business founded by the family in 1965 eventually grew to become one of the biggest companies in the country today: Engro Corporation.

    Engro operates through four divisions: Food & Agriculture, Energy & Related Infrastructure, Petrochemicals, and Telecommunication Infrastructure. Shahzada, who is lost somewhere at the bottom of the North Atlantic with his son, is currently the acting vice-chairman of the company.

    Pakistan’s philanthropists

    The family also set up a not-for-profit foundation called The Dawood Foundation. It has financially assisted Pakistanis affected by the 2005 earthquake and the catastrophic 2010 floods. 

    During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Pakistan, Shahzada’s father Hussain Dawood, pledged one billion rupees on behalf of Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules Group, another company predominantly owned by the family.

    Moreover, the foundation has funded a variety of formal and informal education projects, the most notable ones including Dawood University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi School of Business and the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design at Beaconhouse National University.

  • Coal plant in Thar explodes, five injured

    Coal plant in Thar explodes, five injured

    A massive explosion took place at the Thar coal power plant owned by the Engro Corporation on Wednesday evening. Five people received injuries as a result.

    According to details, the explosion happened at the coal plant of Engro Powergen Thar Limited (EPTL) in the coal conveyor system of the 330 MW Unit 1 of the plant.

    In the statement released by the company, they ensured the safety of people and provide them with all necessary support.

    “Due to an incident, 5 people were affected directly who are currently stable and are being provided with necessary medical aid,” the statement added.

    They also updated about the status of the coal plant as well.

    It said, “For safety reasons, we will be shutting down the operational unit as well whilst investigations into the incident are underway.”

    Police and district administration reached on time at the site. According to the police, no deaths were reported in the incident.