Prominent Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood was travelling with his son, Suleman, on the submarine that went missing off the coast of southeastern Canada while taking tourists to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, said the family and company.

In a statement released on Tuesday to BBC News, the Dawood family in Pakistan said they had embarked on a journey to visit the remnants of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.

“As of now, contact has been lost with their submersible craft and there is limited information available,” it said.

On Sunday, the Engro Corporation also issued a statement on the “loss of contact with the submersible craft” in which Dawood and his son were travelling.

Shahzada Dawood is based in the UK, and is a trustee at the SETI Insti­tute. He joined the Board of Engro Corporation in 2003 and currently serves as its vice chairman.

The Dawood family is one of the richest families in Pakistan. According to the British broadcaster, Dawood and his son Suleman are British citizens.

Shahzada’s family lives in Surbiton, south-west London. He is known for his love for animals and has an interest in photography.

He was born in Pakistan but moved to London, where he studied law at the University of Buckingham. Later, he completed his MSC in Global Textile Marketing from Philadelphia University.

He joined his family business in 1996, having expertise in corporate governance and digitisation of the industrial sector in Pakistan.

Shahzada is a trustee of the Seti Institute, a research organisation in California, according to its website.

It says he lives with his wife, Christine, and his children, Suleman and Alina.

Shahzada joined the Board of Engro Corporation in 2003 and currently serves as the Vice Chairman. The company works in fertilisers, energy, and food related fields.

He is also vice chairman of Dawood Hercules Corporation, part of the Dawood Group, a conglomerate of various businesses owned by the family.

In their statement, the family said: “We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety.”

It went on to say the family was well looked after and were praying for the safe return of their family members.

US and Canadian ships and planes searched on Monday for a submarine that went missing more than a day earlier off the coast of southeastern Canada while taking tourists to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, officials said.

A five-member expedition team, which includes two members of the Dawood family, was on board the submarine.

The US Coast Guard said there was one pilot and four passengers on board and that the vessel had the capacity to be submerged for 96 hours, but it was unclear whether it was still underwater or had surfaced and was unable to communicate.

US and Canadian ships and planes have swarmed the area about 900 miles (1,450 km) east of Cape Cod, some dropping sonar buoys that can monitor to a depth of 13,000 feet (3,962 meters), U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger told reporters on Monday.

“It is a remote area and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” Mauger said.

“We are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board,” he said. “Going into this evening we will continue to fly aircraft and move additional vessels.”

Mauger said officials have also been reaching out to commercial vessels for help.

The private company that operates the submarine, OceanGate Expeditions, said in a statement on Monday that it was “mobilizing all options” to rescue those on board. British billionaire Hamish Harding is among the passengers, according to a social media post from a relative.

The US Coast Guard said earlier on Twitter that a boat on the surface - the Polar Prince - lost contact with the submarine, called the Titan, about one hour and 45 minutes after it began diving toward the site of the Titanic’s wreckage on Sunday morning.

OceanGate said, “We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible.”

Harding’s stepson wrote on Facebook that Harding had “gone missing on submarine” and asked for “thoughts and prayers.” The stepson subsequently removed the post, citing respect for the family’s privacy.

Harding himself had posted on Facebook that he would be aboard the sub. There have been no further posts from him. The expedition headed out to sea on Friday, and the first dive was set for Sunday morning, according to Harding’s post.

The expeditions, which cost $250,000 per person, start in St. John’s, Newfoundland, before heading out approximately 400 miles (640 km) into the Atlantic to the wreckage site, according to OceanGate’s website.

In order to visit the wreck, passengers climb inside Titan, the five-person submersible, which takes two hours to descend approximately 12,500 feet (3,800 m) to the Titanic.

The British passenger ship famously sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage after striking an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people. The story has been immortalized in nonfiction and fiction books as well as the 1997 blockbuster movie “Titanic.”