Survivor of deadly duck boat accident in Missouri speaks about life jackets

On Thursday, July 19, a duck boat on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, capsized after taking in water from high waves.

Tia Coleman told WXIN-TV in Indianapolis that she and a nephew were among 11 relatives on a duck boat Thursday night on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri.

While a severe thunderstorm and massive waves hit the area around the time the boat sank Thursday night, it’s still unclear why it happened and others made it through the storm. An investigation is now underway. Branson set up a command post inside its city hall, offering chaplains, psychologists and Red Cross services to families, Pettit, a city spokeswoman, said. “We have so much fun here”. The boats are a familiar site, operating in the city for 21 years, with two million served.

On land, the amphibious vehicles have “massive blind spots” that endanger pedestrians, Mongeluzzi said. Some of those on the capsized boat were able to swim to shore, the Kansas City Star reported.

“Why wasn’t there any life jackets? Nobody around. It was really eerie”, he said. But Mongeluzzi says the “fatal flaw” of duck boats – their canopies – remains unchanged despite findings that show they can be hazardous when sinking.

“That’s a determining factor daily for us to monitor what’s happening now on our waterways”, he said.

Some blame the design of the boats for many of those deaths, especially the canopy, which can trap passengers underwater who may have otherwise survived.

“And those vests are out and visible”.

Duck vehicles, modelled on landing craft that were used in the D-Day invasion of World War Two, are used on sightseeing tours around the world.

Two tourists died in Philadelphia in 2010 when the duck boat they were in was struck by a tugboat on the Delaware River. Two boats had been on the water, according to Rader, one of which returned safely.

“There’s nothing to slow down winds in an open area”, he said. The warning mentioned both locations. The boat went down about 40 minutes later, shortly after 7pm. Ms Smagala added this was the Branson tour’s first accident in more than 40 years of operation.

The sinking of a duck boat near Branson took the lives of 17 people, including nine members of one family. The captain survived, authorities said.

Coleman Douglas said the victims included her uncles Horace “Butch” Coleman and Irving Raymond Coleman; Horace Coleman’s wife, Belinda Coleman; her cousins, Angela Coleman and Glenn Coleman; Angela’s 2-year-old son Maxwell; Glenn’s two sons Evan and Reece; and his 1-year-old daughter, Arya. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 miles per hour.

In 2011, the boat lost its steering for an unknown reason with 30 people on board while on the lake, but the boat was able to get back on land with no injuries or damage.

Missouri law requires all children under the age of seven to wear life jackets on boats, unless they are in the “cabin area”.

Mr Pattinson said that he has been told by his employees that the accident was likely caused by “a fast-moving storm that came out of basically nowhere”.

Stone County sheriff Doug Rader said the boat had sunk in 40ft (12m) of water, and then rolled into 80ft of water.

She said the captain of the boat told them when they were in the lake not to put their life jackets on, an action she believed cost lives.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which arrived at the scene Friday afternoon, said they are working to interview survivors as well as gather physical evidence.