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>Seventeen people, including children, have died after a duck boat capsized during a thunderstorm that ravaged Table Rock Lake in Missouri on Thursday Seventeen people, including children, have died and a number of passengers are injured after a duck boat capsized during a thunderstorm that ravaged Table Rock Lake in Missouri on Thursday. Thirty-one people were on a Ride the Ducks boat in the Ozarks when strong winds caused it to capsize, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said in a press conference broadcast by KY3. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Rader said at least seven people were transported to the hospital with injuries and authorities found 17 bodies during the rescue and recovery mission that continued into Friday. After initially confirming that 13 people were dead, the toll was updated to 17 early Friday afternoon after divers found four additional bodies, the Associated Press reported. Missouri Boat Accident, Branson, USA - 20 Jul 2018 Emergency workers patrol an area, near where a duck boat capsized the night before. | Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP/REX/Shutterstock Rader said he believed the boat turned over and sunk due to the stormy weather at about 8 p.m. ET with the thunderstorm winds as high as 60 mph, according to NBC News. The duck boat remains at the bottom of the lake. Missouri Boat Accident, Branson, USA - 20 Jul 2018 Emergency workers patrol an area Rader added that an off-duty sheriff’s deputy was on the boat and helped rescue people. In a statement, the company said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Ride The Ducks Branson. This incident has deeply affected all of us. Words cannot convey how profoundly our hearts are breaking. “We will continue to do all we can to assist the families who were involved.” The Table Rock Lake Twitter page tweeted it was “aware of a major incident that happened tonight” at the lake “and ask that you pray for those involved as well as law enforcement/first responders.” In a video captured and shared on Facebook by Jeanie Phillips-Hudson Carr, two duck boats are seen struggling to reach land while a thunderstorm raged on. Missouri Boat Accident, Branson, USA - 20 Jul 2018 Emergency workers patrol the area | Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP/REX/Shutterstock One duck boat is seen gaining speed in the lake as it appears to make headway toward land, while the other remains left behind and struggling to remain upright against ferocious winds. 9766121b Credit: SOUTHERN STONE COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Toward the end of the video, the second boat is seen slowly turning on its side and sinking into the water as shocked bystanders watch from the Branson Belle, a showboat that helped rescue people, according to the Springfield News-Leader. In a second video posted by Phillips-Hudson Carr, workers on the showboat can be heard desperately calling for rope and help to try to rescue the stricken amphibious boat. “We are at Branson and on the showboat! A storm came in as we got on and there was [sic] 2 ducks that you ride out there and 1 went under. Not sure if everyone on it is ok,” Phillips-Hudson Carr wrote. In audio obtained by the News-Leader, a dispatcher tells first responders people aboard the Branson Belle were pulling victims out of the water. 9766121a First responders searching for victims of a capsized duck boat at Table Rock Lake “We have a report of a duck that has sank [sic] completely,” the dispatcher said. “They have lost sight of it. About 10 people have surfaced, but there were about 20 people on board.” “They are attempting to pull people out on the Belle and the surrounding dock,” the dispatcher continued. “We have CPR in progress on one. One more they can see, face down in the water. They’re trying to get to [it] at this time.” A first responder could be heard telling the dispatcher, “Copy that. If you would, go ahead and notify Mercy. Tell ’em to send every truck they’ve got.” The duck boat was part of Ride the Duck in Branson, Missouri, a fleet which was bought last year by Ripley Entertainment, the company that owns Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Suzanne Smagala-Potts, a spokeswoman for the company tells PEOPLE they are aware of the situation. “Number one, our priority is the families and employees, and that’s what we’re focusing on. We are in contact with authorities but we do not have enough information at this time to confirm anything,” Smagala-Potts says. According to the company’s website, Ride the Ducks is a guided amphibious tour for both land and water that lasts 70 minutes. President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Twitter, early Friday, sharing his condolences.<doc-sep>Governor on duck boat incident: Doesn't look good for survival 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. Thee Southern Stone County Fire Protection District posted this video of the article scene at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. (CNN) — For the latest developments on the duck boat sinking, please click here. A duck boat capsized and sank during a severe thunderstorm in Missouri, killing at least 11 people, some of them children, authorities said. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said 31 people were aboard the boat during Thursday night’s incident on Table Rock Lake near Branson. Six people are unaccounted for and 14 survived, he said. Video posted by Jennie Phillips-Hudson Carr and shot from a nearby larger vessel showed two duck boats rocking and tilting to the side as the lake’s ripples turned into massive waves. “Oh my God, those poor people, oh no!” someone says in the background as the water crashes into the bobbing boats. “If there’s kids on there, those poor babies,” a female voice says. Diving teams from various agencies scoured the waters for potential victims, and will resume again in the morning. CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Viewer captures trouble for 2 Ride the Ducks moments before sinking of one boat: https://t.co/kukkIEGybI — KY3 News (@kytv) July 20, 2018 The duck boat had life jackets An off-duty deputy working security helped rescue people, Rader said, without providing details. He said there were life jackets aboard the boat, but he doesn’t know whether people were wearing them. Ripley Entertainment, the parent company of Ride the Ducks Branson, said it recently acquired the vessel involved in the incident. It said there were other boats on the lake that returned to dock safely. Rader confirmed that there were two duck boats headed toward land, but one made it out safely. The amphibious boat travels on both land and water, and is popular among tourists in major cities. The boats’ history dates back to World War II, when such boats were a common sight due to their versatility. Severe thunderstorms hit Branson Branson was under a severe thunderstorm warning issued shortly before 6:30 p.m. local time, about half an hour before the boat capsized. There were numerous reports of damage throughout the county, including trees down and structural damage, said CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward. The highest wind gust reported in the area was 63 mph. “I believe it was caused by weather, yes,” said Rader, the sheriff. Gov. Mike Parson asked for prayers for first responders and those involved in the incident. The investigation will be conducted by the Coast Guard, said Sgt. Jason Pace of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is assisting. A team from the National Transportation Safety Board will travel to the scene Friday morning. Branson is about 200 miles from Kansas City, and is considered a major family vacation destination. 27 reported tornadoes rip through Iowa CNN’s Deanna Hackney, Steve Almasy and Sheena Jones contributed to this report.<doc-sep>The storm that swept through a Missouri vacation town – and ultimately caused a duck boat to capsize, killing at least 13 tourists – was so ferocious, it resembled a tornado, according to a shaken eyewitness. “I looked out the window and everything was fine. Then it turned dark and the wind kicked up like I’ve never seen before,” Stephanie Kettells, the co-owner of Lakeside Resort Restaurant and General Store on Table Rock Lake, told the Springfield News-Leader. “I thought it was tornadic winds.” see also Death toll rises in duck boat capsizing At least 13 people, including children, were killed when a... Kettells said her son and husband were down on the docks Thursday, where their boats were “coming up head level because of the waves.” “It was crazy,” she said. “It was like the ocean out there. We’ve been here 12 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.” Officials said the storm likely caused a Ride the Ducks boat to flip over and sink around 8 p.m. Among the dead are children, authorities said. Divers resumed searching the southwest Missouri Lake for four who remained missing Friday. The sudden weather was worrisome to veteran boater Brandon Hite, who was fishing with his 14-year-old daughter Danielle near the Cape Fair Boat Dock & Marina when the skies darkened. “By the time we got out of the cove, it had already got dark up there,” he said. “I looked up to the north and I said ‘What is that there?’ It looked like dust but it was white. It was like a nest.” As the winds began whipping the waters, Hite carefully drove his 26-foot boat toward the marina to safety. “My whole goal was to keep the nose of the boat (pointed) in the wind because if I went sideways, we would have capsized,” he said. “It was definitely scary.” He said his frightened daughter laid down in the boat and held on to stop herself from falling out. “I told her ‘I do not know the outcome of this,'” Hite said. “I’d never had anything come upon us like this.<doc-sep>
Seventeen people are dead after an amphibious duck boat with tourists on board sank in a heavy storm near Branson, Missouri on Thursday. The Stone County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the death toll on Friday morning after a dive team concluded recovery efforts to find four missing bodies. The boat, from Ride the Ducks Branson, was one of two vessels caught in a heavy storm that rolled into the area about 7 p.m. local time. Videos posted on local media showed two boats struggling to make it to shore on Table Rock Lake amid heavy windy and choppy waters. There were 31 people – 29 passengers and two crew members – aboard the capsized boat, according to the Stone County Sheriff’s Office. At a press conference Friday morning, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said the driver of the duck boat died in the accident, but the boat’s captain was among the survivors. He said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working on security for the nearby Branson Belle riverboat in Table Rock Lake helped to rescue people in the water after the accident. “It’s been a long night and a very trying night,” Rader said. Seventeen people have been confirmed dead, including children. Fourteen survived, with seven taken to hospital. Those who died ranged in age from 1 to 70 years old, according to Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace. Rader said Friday morning that he did not have more information about whether the boat operators had checked the weather forecast before leaving shore or whether passengers had been wearing life jackets on board. The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a team to investigate the cause of the accident. “Right now, it’s just a time for thoughts and prayers. There’s a lot of healing that has to take place right now,” Missouri Governor Mike Parson said at Friday’s press conference. “All those details will come in time, but for right now, it’s about really trying to protect the families, to unite the families and to deal with the situation they’re in. I think that’s the most important thing.” Who are the victims of the duck boat accident? The Stone County Sheriff’s Office on Friday released the names of the 17 victims. They include nine members of the same family, a couple from St. Louis, a couple from Higginsville, a father and son from Arkansas and a grandmother who died saving her granddaughter, according to local media reports. The boat’s driver, Bob Williams, was also among the deceased. Why did the duck boat sink? Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader attributed the sinking to heavy winds. The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Wind speeds reached 60 mph, a weather service meteorologist in Springfield told the Associated Press. “They were coming back to land. There were actually two ducks. The first one made it out and the second one didn’t,” Rader said at a press conference Thursday night. Video posted to the Springfield News-Leader showed the two boats struggling to make it to shore in heavy wind and waves. Onlooker Jennie P. Carr, who was on the Branson Belle Showboat as people had dinner, recorded footage of the boat’s nose sinking below the water. The camera turned away before the boat sank. “It got closer to us on the Showboat and you could see water going into the boat. I did see he was starting to sink. It was leaning to the right,” she told the newspaper. She said the boat was out of sight when it sank. What is the duck boat operator saying? On Friday morning the operators’ website was replaced by an image of a black ribbon, with a statement reading: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Ride The Ducks Branson. This incident has deeply affected all of us. Words cannot convey how profoundly our hearts are breaking.” It continued, “We will continue to do all we can to assist the families who were involved and the authorities as they continue with the search and rescue. The safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority. Ride the Ducks will be closed for business while we support the investigation, and to allow time to grieve for the families and the community.” “Thank you for your support, and we ask that your thoughts and prayers be with the families during this time.” Have there been other fatal duck boat accidents?