Stepson of billionaire missing in submarine slammed for attending concert

Brian Szasz, the stepson of British billionaire Hamish Harding, has defended his decision to attend a concert despite his stepdad being missing. 

The billionaire is one of five people on board OceanGate's tourist submersible that is lost at sea. 

The miniature carbon-fiber submersible - which is called Titan - went missing on Sunday after losing communication with its mother ship less than two hours into its descent. 

It was embarking on an expedition to see the wreck of the RMS Titanic. The ship sank in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.  More than 1, 500 passengers died. 

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While the world waited with bated breath to see if the vessel would be found before its occupants run out of oxygen, Brian was spotted at a Blink-182 concert. 

He posted a picture of himself outside the concert venue. Brian shared the image shortly after he posted about his stepfather being missing. 

"Hamish my stepdad is lost in a submarine thoughts and prayers that the rescue mission will be successful," he wrote on Facebook. 

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Brian, who works as an audio engineer, took to his Instagram Stories to explain why he attended the Blink-182 show.  

"Yes I went to @blink-182 last night. What am I supposed to do sit at home and watch the news? Not sorry this band has helped me through hard times since 1998," he wrote. 

He tagged Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker - who is married to Kourtney Kardashian. 

Brian wrote in a separate post on Facebook: "It might be distasteful being here but my family would want me to be at the Blink-182 show as it’s my favorite band and music helps me in difficult times."

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Brian has since deleted most of the posts, but they were already captured via screenshots, and shared by several publications.

Scores of people took to social media to share their views on Brian's decision to attend the concert. 

"Everyone's on Twitter arguing over whether it's ok to make "insensitive comments" about the missing Titanic submarine meanwhile the billionaire's stepson is going to a Blink-182 concert. The way I audibly gasped," one Twitter user wrote. 

Twitter user James McMahon added: "If I ever go missing, entombed in a submarine, presumed dead, I want you to know that I demand you are sad and don’t go to any gigs for at least 48 hours." 

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Meanwhile, time is running out for Brian's stepfather and the four other passengers, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet. 

British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, 19-year-old Suleman Dawood, are also inside the vessel.

The passengers reportedly paid $250,000 (R4.5-million) to be part of the Titanic tourist expedition.

According to reports shared early Wednesday, June 21, the passengers have just 24 hours of oxygen left. 

Sonar has picked up "banging" noises in the vicinity of Titan's last known location. Some reports suggest that the occupants could be hitting the side of the craft with objects such as cups in the hopes of being detected on sonar devices. 

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Main image credit: Instagram/@oceangate

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