From Southern Stone County Fire Protection District via Facebook: This is the staging area during the initial response to the "MCI" The Branson Belle was not involved in the incident. https://www.facebook.com/sscfpd/videos/10155428857546697/ Thee Southern Stone County Fire Protection District posted this video of the article scene at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. A duck boat that sank in Branson, Missouri, is raised out of the water. (CNN) — Tia Coleman was one of 31 people riding on a Ride the Ducks Branson amphibious vessel when the craft began to sink in the rough lake water whipped up by a fast-moving thunderstorm. Coleman, one of 14 people who survived after the boat went under the water, told CNN affiliate KOLR she was shouting but couldn’t hear or see anyone else. She had been on board with 10 members of her family, according to KOLR. “And I was yelling, I was screaming, and finally I said, ‘Lord, just let me die, let me die,’ I said. ‘I can’t keep drowning, I just can’t keep drowning,’” she told KOLR. “And then I just let go and I started floating. And I was floating up to the top. I felt the water temperature raise to warm,” she said. “And then I felt the temperature raise, I jumped up and I saw the big boat that sits out there,” she of spotting a riverboat that was docked nearby. People were throwing out life jackets. Water conditions on Table Rock Lake near the Missouri tourist mecca of Branson has deteriorated rapidly after a storm that had raced across the Midwest earlier Thursday rolling in with strong gusts. Another Ride the Ducks boat was nearby but made it to shore, ahead of the one Coleman was on. “We got out of it and made it to the ramp. And I turned around and watched the other boat nose-dive, and my heart dropped,” passenger Kourtney Parker said. Onlookers desperately tried to help as the duck boat began to sink in 40 feet of water. One group pulled an unconscious woman out of the water. An off-duty law enforcement officer dove into the choppy waters. There were life jackets on the boat, but Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said he doesn’t know whether people were wearing them. Early Saturday, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office released the names of all 17 people who died. Nine victims had the surname Coleman, including four children – the youngest just 1 year old. According to KOLR, Tia Coleman was one of just two members of her family who survived. Seventeen people, ranging in age from 1 to 76 years old, died, authorities said. Investigators are now looking into questions about the accident, including ones about the weather, the life jacket situation, the boat and the actions of the crew, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard said. By late Friday morning, all 17 bodies had been recovered, US Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tasha Sadowicz said. The Coast Guard will conduct an investigation, said Sgt. Jason Pace of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is assisting. A team from the NTSB traveled to the scene Friday. The NTSB, on Twitter, sought the public’s help for photos or video of the sinking. Severe storm hit Branson area Jim Pattison Jr., president of the company that owns the duck boat tours, Ripley Entertainment Inc., said the ferocious squall “came out of nowhere.” According to weather data, the storm traveled hundreds of miles at 55 mph before it hit the lake. The area around Branson was placed under a severe thunderstorm warning shortly after 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET), about half an hour before the boat sank. Branson was under a severe thunderstorm warning issued shortly after 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET), about half an hour before the boat capsized. https://t.co/MABgacUimV pic.twitter.com/V7XVsFgP7Q — CNN Weather Center (@CNNweather) July 20, 2018 Radar shows the first wind gusts arriving at the lake ahead of the storm, at 6:59 p.m. There were reports of damage throughout Stone County, including trees down and structural damage, CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said. The highest wind gust reported in the area was 63 mph. The storm was part of the same upper-level weather system that spawned destructive tornadoes Thursday in Iowa, Missouri’s northern neighbor. Authorities received the first 911 call about the sinking at 7:09 p.m., the sheriff said. In July, the company operates tours that depart every 30 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. A tour lasts about 70 minutes, with about half on land and half on water, the company’s website says. A mechanical problem on another boat possibly led to a delay in the ill-fated craft beginning its tour. ’Those poor people, oh no!’ Jennie Phillips-Hudson Carr, was on the nearby Showboat Branson Belle, a riverboat docked near the sinking ship. Video she recorded shows at least three vessels on the lake, including the two Ride the Ducks boats rocking and tilting to the side as ripples turned into massive waves. Strong winds whipped waves head-on onto the boats. Charlie Riedel/AP Emergency workers patrol an area Friday near where the duck boat sank in Table Rock Lake. “Oh my God, those poor people, oh no!” someone says on the video as the water crashes into the smaller boats, and the one starts sinking. “If there’s kids on there, those poor babies,” a female voice says. The boat sank, wheels down, 40 feet down, and then rolled to an area 80 feet deep, Rader said. Among those killed was the driver, Robert “Bob” Williams, said his widow, Judy Williams. A second crew member – the boat’s captain, whose name wasn’t immediately released – was among the survivors and was taken to a hospital, Pattison said. ‘This should never end this way’ Ripley Entertainment said it recently acquired the boat company. The boat had a captain and a driver with a commercial license, he said. “Obviously, we shouldn’t be out there in severe weather,” Pattison said. The company has been in operation for 47 years without any incident such as this, he said.<doc-sep>At least 17 people - nine from the same family - have died after an amphibious “duck boat” capsized in stormy weather on a lake in Missouri. Divers had been searching for four people who were missing after the sightseeing vessel sank in Table Rock Lake, police in the US state said and as Governor Mike Parson had pointed out to CNN, the chances of finding survivors were slim the morning after the incident. Mr Parson later revealed that nine of the victims, which is said to be include children, were members of the same family. "It's difficult to find the right words to say," he told the broadcaster Recommended Duck boat trips on Thames halted after fire Finding the missing passengers "brings some closure" to survivors and victims' families, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told MSNBC, congratulating the efforts of rescue divers. Seven others were taken to hospital following the disaster near the city of Branson, Mr Rader said. President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences to the victims' families and wrote: " Such a tragedy, such a great loss. May God be with you all!" There were 31 people on board the Ride the Ducks tour boat when it sank in 40 feet (12 metres) of water during the thunderstorm shortly after 7pm local time (midnight GMT) on Thursday. The driver of the duck boat - a hybrid land-to-water vehicle, was among the victims, police said. Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Show all 18 1 /18 Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Seventeen people died after a duck boat capsized in Branson lake, Missouri. Nine out of 11 members of the same family died during the accident. Tia Coleman, far left, and her nephew, far right, were the only survivors from the Coleman family on the boat Belinda Coleman/Facebook Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Emergency responders work at Table Rock Lake after the boat accident AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake People pray by a car thought to belong to a victim of Thursday's boating accident AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, left, and Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader hold a press conference at Table Rock Lake about fatal accident. St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Emergency workers patrol an area near where the duck boat capsized AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Crews working at the scene where a tourist boat capsized and sank Southern Stone County Fire Protection District/AFP/Getty Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Rina Bernard, left, and Keri Johnson leave flowers on a car believed to belong to a victim of a last night's duck boat accident AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Brandon Webb and Carlye Michel participate in a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Rescue personnel REUTERS Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Flowers and a note rest on a car believed to belong to a victim AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Southern Stone County Fire Protection District responding Southern Stone County Fire Protection District/EPA Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake People pray during a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake People pray next to a car believed to belong to a victim AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake A woman writes a message during a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Ducks boat sits idle in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake People pray around a van believed to belong to victims of a duck boat accident AP Missouri boat crash: 17 dead after duck boat capsizes in Branson lake Russ McKay looks at a cross left in a makeshift memorial for his friends before a candlelight vigil AP A second boat made it safely back to shore. “There was some heavy wind. It was having problems through the wind,” Mr Rader said. “They were coming back towards land. There was actually two ducks. The first one made it out. The second one didn’t.” Mr Parson indicated the weather had been calm Thursday evening and the devastating storm "came out of nowhere". Jim Pattison Jr, president of the Ride the Duck Branson's parent company Ripley Entertainment, said: "My understanding was that when the boat went in the water, it was calm. And partway through coming back is when ... the waves picked up and then obviously swamped the boat." Two adults in a critical condition were among seven victims taken to the Cox Medical Centre in Branson, the hospital said. Rescue crews work by the shore of Table Rock Lake (AP) Video footage shot by a witness from the shore and broadcast by local media showed strong waves tossing two duck boats side to side during the storm. Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area on Thursday evening ahead of winds of more than 60mph. “It’s a warning telling people to take shelter,” he said. Mr Rader said an off-duty police officer working security for the boat company had been on the boat and helped to rescue people as it sank.<doc-sep>Duck boats – amphibious vehicles that can travel on both land and water – have a long history of fatal crashes and accidents. Seventeen people, including at least one child, died after a Ride the Ducks craft capsized on Table Rock Lake in Missouri late Thursday. The boat, carrying a reported 31 passengers, sank as a storm lashed the lake with severe winds. Arkansas In 1999, 13 people died after a duck boat sank on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Only eight of the 21 people on board survived. The Coast Guard concluded that a dislodged drive-shaft seal allowed water to flood the hull of the Miss Majesty. Seattle In 2011, a motorcyclist was seriously injured after a duck boat ran over him. He survived the collision, but his arm, leg and pelvis were all crushed after he became stuck under the undercarriage and dragged into the next block, KOMO news reported. Later that year, a duck boat rear-ended a car elsewhere in Seattle, according to information provided by Seattle-based Davis Law Group. In 2015, five college students were killed and 69 others were injured in Seattle after a duck boat collided with a bus. Ride the Ducks International of Branson, which manufactured the Seattle boats, was fined $500,000. Investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that Ride the Ducks had manufactured the vehicles using parts of World War II-era military-surplus vehicles. The following year, two more incidents took place in Seattle, according to Davis Law Group. In one, the driver of a duck boat reportedly did not see a car while making a wide turn and crashed into the car. In another, the driver was reportedly trying to get the duck boat out of the way of an oncoming ambulance and couldn't see the sedan in front of it. More:Ride the Duck maker fined $500,000 after fatal Seattle crash Philadelphia In 2010, a barge plowed into a duck boat that had stalled in the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Two of the 37 people on board drowned. They were 16- and 20-year-old Hungarians visiting the United States through a church exchange program. A tug operator eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, acknowledging that the accident was caused largely due to his use of a cellphone and laptop while steering the barge. In 2015, a woman was struck and killed by a duck boat while she was crossing a street. The duck boat operator, connected to the Branson business, suspended its tours in 2016. Boston In 2016, a duck boat ran over a scooter, killing a woman and injuring a man, according to the Boston Globe. Months later, another woman was struck and seriously injured by a duck boat at another Boston intersection. Critics say that the amphibious vehicles are dangerous because their design creates blind spots for drivers. Ontario, Canada In 2002, a custom-built pickup truck converted into a duck boat, the Lady Duck, sank in the Ottowa River while on a tour. According to CBC News, four passengers were trapped under the Lady Duck’s canopy and drowned, including a mother and her two young children. Six passengers, the tour guide and the driver escaped. Liverpool, United Kingdom In 2010, a bearing collapsed on a vehicle belonging to a tour company called The Yellow Duckmarine, causing the vehicle to crash on Duke Street. Four passengers were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to Davis Law Group. In 2013, a Yellow Duckmarine sank near Salthouse Dock. A government investigation later found that it was "extremely fortunate" that none of the 33 passengers and crew were injured. Many were sent to the hospital, according to the Liverpool Echo. London, United Kingdom In 2013, London Duck Tours boat Cleopatra caught fire on the Thames River, and 30 people had to be rescued. A first responder told the BBC that one passenger found it "difficult" to get the life jackets out of their packets. In 2005, several "Ride the Ducks" companies merged into one under the name Ride the Ducks International, LLC, according to the Missouri Secretary of State's website. Those included businesses with names that included Branson, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Memphis and San Diego. At the time, it was registered under Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, which also operates Silver Dollar City. Later, the business was registered under Capitol Corporate Services, Inc. Ripley Entertainment acquired Ride the Ducks in Branson in December. According to Branson's Ride The Ducks' website, the company operates seasonally with the "Table Rock Lake Adventure" running from March to December. There are two boarding locations — one is on the Branson Strip, the other is on the Branson Landing. A few on social media called for reforms after Thursday night's incident near Branson. A Twitter user named Jeremy Smith asked: "At what point can we get rid of 'Ride the Ducks' for good? how many accidents have to happen? You take a 5 ton war machine, that our veterans were forced to ride and try to turn it into an overpriced, dangerous attraction." Contributing: The Associated Press<doc-sep>Ride The Ducks Branson has offered to pay for all related medical bills and funeral expenses in the tragedy. BRANSON, Mo. – The duck boat where 17 people lost their lives was recovered from Table Rock Lake Monday morning. Ride The Ducks Branson has offered to pay for all related medical bills and funeral expenses in the tragedy. The company says its cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and all federal and state authorities involved in the investigation. STATEMENT FROM RIDE THE DUCKS BRANSON We remain deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Ride the Ducks Branson. Our focus from the start has been on the guests, families, and employees who were affected last Thursday. Today, we continue to focus our efforts on the families. We are offering to pay for all related medical bills and funeral expenses, return all personal items from the rescue scene, and assist with any related travel or accommodations that will help the families in their time of need. An event like this deeply touches everyone and we are also providing grief counseling to our employees who have been affected by this tragic accident. We are fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Highway Patrol and all federal and state authorities involved in the investigation. The investigation is being managed by the NTSB. Because we are a party to the NTSB investigation, we are not allowed to comment on any aspect of it. However, our job is to cooperate and provide information to those officials and to comfort the families of those affected by this tragic event.<doc-sep>
From Southern Stone County Fire Protection District via Facebook: This is the staging area during the initial response to the "MCI" The Branson Belle was not involved in the incident. https://www.facebook.com/sscfpd/videos/10155428857546697/ Thee Southern Stone County Fire Protection District posted this video of the article scene at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. A duck boat that sank in Branson, Missouri, is raised out of the water. (CNN) — The duck boat that capsized during a storm in southwestern Missouri last week – a disaster that left 17 people dead – was raised to the surface of Table Rock Lake on Monday in an effort overseen by the Coast Guard. The Ride the Ducks Branson amphibious vessel had 31 people on board when it left the shore Thursday on the lake near Branson, Missouri, as a severe thunderstorm whipped up intense winds and waves. The Coast Guard surfaced the sunken duck boat on Monday and plans to take the boat to a facility for further inspection. The process to lift the boat and tow it to shore involved several divers, a barge crane and water pumps. Pool A duck boat that sank in Branson, Missouri, is raised out of the water. Coast Guard Capt. Scott Stoermer said the vessel was resting on the bottom of the lake, about 80 feet underwater. In addition to the salvage effort, investigators are looking into questions about the accident, including ones about the weather, life jackets, the boat and the actions of the crew, officials said. One family lost 9 members Tia Coleman and 10 of her relatives got on the duck boat to take a tour of Table Rock Lake during their family vacation. Only she and her nephew survived when the boat sank. Her husband, her three children and five other members of her family died in the accident. Leeta Bigbee In back, from left to right: Tia Coleman, holding her one-year-old Arya, Ray Coleman, Glenn Coleman, Horace Coleman. In front: Angela Coleman, Max, Evan, Reece, Donovan Hall, Belinda Coleman. Coleman said Monday night on “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” that her spouse tried to rescue their children. “Somebody told me that when they found my husband, he had all three of my babies.” “That right there will keep me fighting for my family forever,” Coleman said. “To know that he did (was) exactly what he always told me when we first met: ‘I will always take care of you and our children.’” Coleman said this about survivors who have expressed guilt to her about not being able to save those who died: “We all went through something extremely dramatic, they should never feel guilty for surviving.” Victims weren’t wearing life jackets when they were found None of the victims who died were wearing life jackets when they were found, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Sunday. The duck boat contained life jackets, but passengers weren’t required to wear them, according to Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader. Regulations mandate there must be enough life jackets for everyone on board, Stoermer said, but the captain decides whether passengers need to wear them. Coleman said the captain mentioned the life jackets before they went on the lake. “The captain did say something about life jackets. He said, ‘Above you are the life jackets, there are three sizes, but you won’t need them,’” Coleman said Saturday night. Fellow survivor Talyssa Mann, a 19-year-old from Carlsbad, New Mexico, said Coleman’s statement about life jackets was correct. “I felt like, if I was able to get a life jacket I could have saved my babies because they could have at least floated up to the top and somebody could have grabbed them,” Coleman told reporters. Victims’ ages spanned decades The victims ranged in age from 1 to 76 years, authorities said. Nine of the victims were the Colemans. They were Angela, 45; Arya, 1; Belinda, 69; Ervin, 76; Evan, 7; Glenn, 40; Horace, 70; Maxwell, 2; and Reece, 9. They had been on a family vacation from Indiana. The driver of the duck boat, Robert Williams, 73, died in the sinking, said his widow, Judy Williams. Other victims included Steve Smith, a retired teacher from Osceola, Arkansas, and his teenage son, Lance; William and Janice Bright, a married couple from Higginsville, Missouri; William Asher and his partner, Rosemarie Hamann from Missouri; and Leslie Dennison from Illinois, according to family friends, CNN affiliates and local media reports.