Branson is about 200 miles southeast of Kansas City, and is considered a major family vacation destination.
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As for the survivors, four patients were still in the hospital Friday evening, including two adults in critical condition.
“I ” m sure they knew there were some storms out, but as to why they still had the boats out at that time, that’s what’s going through my mind”, said Barlow.
Both duck boats had overhead roofs or canopies that the National Transportation Safety Board warned could greatly increase the risk of passengers becoming trapped in the boat and drowning.
“So all of the staff, all of the waiters, waitresses that may be on our showboat actually grabbed life jackets, AEDs, were running up and down the aisles helping as much as they could”, he said, referring to automated external defibrillators. She said she lost all her children, but she did not say how many.
Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Laurie Driver says storms tend to blow up quickly in the region of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas that includes Table Rock, but the agency must rely on people making their own judgments about the safety of setting out on the water.
Glenn’s wife, Tia Coleman, and Angela’s older son, whose name has not been released, survived the accident, Coleman Douglas said.
However, they are required to have enough personal floatation devices for all passengers and crew, including appropriately-sized jackets for all children on board. A full investigation was underway. Some of the evidence will be taken back to Washington, D.C., for further analysis, according to an NTSB representative.
Ripley Entertainment, the parent company of Ride the Ducks Branson, said it recently acquired the vessel involved in the incident. That will happen in the coming days, according to the USCG. Smagala added this was the Branson tour’s only accident in more than 40 years of operation.
“He said it when we were in the water”, she told Fox59.
A microburst is a severe, localised wind gust, blasting down from a thunderstorm, typically covering an area less than 4km in diameter and lasting less than five minutes.
The video ends abruptly with the boats still struggling to overcome the waves.
An investigation into the matter is underway, said officials.
Divers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol located the boat Friday morning, but it will not be pulled out of the water until the afternoon.
Passengers on a nearby boat described the chaos as the winds picked up and the water turned rough. Investigators also found fault with the maintenance of the duck boat and decisions by the captain to anchor in an active navigation channel.
But Andrew Duffy, another attorney who was involved in the 2010 Philadelphia case, says he’s seen little progress toward enacting those safety recommendations.
“My boats are original from World War II”, Roberts said. Personally, I just thought it was little bit of wind and rain.
A duck boat is seen at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, U.S., July 19, 2018 in this picture grab obtained from social media video.
“Words can not convey how profoundly our hearts are breaking”, the company said.
Commenting on the rescue operation, he said: “Emergency responders and civilian rescuers helped avert an even worse tragedy as people rushed to help in extremely unsafe conditions”. President Trump and the First Lady “extend their deepest sympathies to all those affected by yesterday’s boating accident on Table Rock Lake”, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Friday.
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Asked how citizens could help, Pettit said all officials are asking for at this point is love and prayers. “We will provide updates as we have additional, confirmed information to share”.
