NEWFOUNDLAND, Canada - Tributes started pouring in on Thursday for the five people who are believed to have died after the submersible they were in was said to have imploded near the wreck of the Titanic.

The five people aboard were British billionaire and explorer Hamish Harding, 58; Pakistani-born business magnate Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his 19-year-old son Suleman, both British citizens; French oceanographer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who had visited the wreck dozens of times; and Mr Stockton Rush, the American founder and chief executive of OceanGate, who was piloting the submersible.

The governments of Pakistan and Britain expressed their “deepest condolences” to the families of those who perished.

In Islamabad, the Pakistani government on Friday offered its condolences to the family of the British-Pakistani father-and-son duo.

“Our deepest condolences to the Dawood family and the family of other passengers on the sad news about the fate of Titanic submersible in the North Atlantic,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “We appreciate the multinational efforts over the last several days in search of the vessel.”

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Twitter: “Tragic news that those on the Titan submersible, including three British citizens, have been lost following an international search operation.

“The UK government is closely supporting the families affected and expresses our deepest condolences.”

Mr Harding’s family paid tribute to a “passionate explorer”. The 58-year-old was a British aviation tycoon with three Guinness World Records.

A statement from his family and his company Action Aviation said they were “united in grief with the other families who have also lost their loved ones on the Titan submersible”.

“What he achieved in his lifetime was truly remarkable and if we can take any small consolation from this tragedy, it’s that we lost him doing what he loved,” the statement added.

The Dawood family similarly expressed “profound grief” at their loss on Friday.

They also extended their “heartfelt condolences to the families of the other passengers on the Titan submersible”, a statement from the Dawood Foundation read, signed by Hussain and Kulsum Dawood, Mr Shahzada’s parents.

“Our hearts are broken,” Explorers Club president Richard Garriott de Cayeux said in a statement. “Their memories will be a blessing and will continue to inspire us in the name of science and exploration.” AFP, BLOOMBERG