The family of the British billionaire on the Titanic submersible that imploded last weekend has taken aim at his old Cambridge college for deciding to put on an "under-the-sea" themed ball.
Following a five-day search, debris from the Titan was found near the Titanic wreck and all five passengers who were on board the sub are presumed dead.
The five men who were inside the submersible are British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood (along with his 19-year-old son, Suleman), French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and finally Stockton Rush - the CEO of OceanGate - which operated the sub.
Harding's cousin Kathleen Cosnett criticized the decision of Cambridge University's Pembroke College to go ahead with the "under-the-sea" theme of a ball it was putting on despite growing concerns at the time that Harding and the passengers on board the vessel were close to running out of oxygen.
"I was shocked about that," she told the Daily Mail. "Unbelievable - at his college of all colleges. Hopefully, they didn’t play 'We all Live in a Yellow Submarine'."
When asked if she thought the occasion should have been canceled entirely, the 69-year-old responded: "Yes, certainly. Someone should have taken a second thought."
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Cosnett described the theme of the ball as "terrible," adding "polite courtesy has missed out on quite a few generations."
She also took aim at the delay before the sub's support ship raised the alarm over the weekend, saying it had taken "far too long."
One student who attended the ball told their university newspaper Varsity it was "insensitive given the circumstances."
She added: "It’s a really heartbreaking situation [and] I think it’d be wrong to blame the committee."
But another told the Daily Mail: "The ball itself had no references to submersibles or the like and the theme was mainly interpreted through decor relating to aquatic sea life and pirates."
A statement on the ball's official website shortly before it was set to take place said: "We are aware of the worrying news about Pembroke alumnus Hamish Harding. Today’s May Ball theme was chosen many months ago and if we could change it now, we would.
"All we can say is that we sincerely hope that Mr Harding and the others on board the submarine will be found safe and well."
The ball raised money for charities Plastic Oceans and the Blue Marine Foundation.
A spokesman for the college said: "Our thoughts go out to the Harding family and all the affected families at this very difficult time."
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