At Least 17 Dead in Duck Boat Accident in Missouri

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

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BRANSON, Mo. – Nine members of one family were among the 17 people who died when an amphibious duck boat capsized during a severe thunderstorm in this tourism hot spot, Gov. Mike Parson's office confirmed Friday.

At least seven other passengers were injured, including two who were in serious condition.
The names and ages of the victims, including the family members, were not immediately available. An 11-member family visiting from Indiana was aboard the vessel. Nine of them died in the accident, leaving only two who survived. Their conditions were not released.

Officials at the Zion Tabernacle Apostolic Church in Indianapolis say the family was close to the church, according to FOX59.
The driver of the Ride the Ducks tourist boat was also among the victims as the vessel sank in 40 feet of water, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters Friday. The captain of the boat survived.

An off-duty sheriff's deputy, who was working on the showboat when a line of the thunderstorms blew through between 6:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., jumped in the water to save some of the passengers, Rader said.

Jeff and Jennie Carr, who were boarding the Branson Belle to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary, watched in horror as wind-whipped waves swamped the duck boat filled with passengers.
"We were halfway to getting on board the Branson Belle when the wind picked up," Carr recalled. "We got over to the other side of the boat and looked out the windows and the water was choppy with white waves on it."

Suddenly, two Ride the Ducks boats came into view, both pummeled by waves.

"I see two boats in the water and the waves were just going over the top of the one that sank," Carr said. "It was awful. It looked like he was having trouble. He was going right into the waves but the wind was trying to turn him around."

Carr said she saw passengers aboard the duck boat sitting down, with the plastic windows rolled down to try to keep the water out.
"You could see water going into the boat," she said. "I did see he was starting to sink. It was leaning to the right."

Carr said the duck boat was blown behind the Branson Belle and she lost sight of it.
"I told another person nearby 'It's going down.' That's the last we saw of it."
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Oooh I've been reading about that all day and the updates.. 9 members of the same family, horrible, terrible tragedy.
 

That was a huge storm that came through Missouri. We were up in Kansas City for a couple of days, and came back mid afternoon, yesterday....right when that storm was passing through Central MO. It was raining so hard, and the wind was so fierce that the windshield wipers were almost useless. We pulled off the road at a convenience store, and sat it out for 30 minutes until the worst of it passed. When we got home, I had 3.5 inches in the rain gauge. I've been on these big local lakes when storms came through, and I Always head for the dock area when a storm is getting close. Not only does the water become a real hazard, but lightning is also a major threat when out on a boat during a storm. I am amazed that the tour company allowed their duckboats out as this storm approached....there were plenty of warnings about how strong the storm might become.
 
Wow Don, that's a good amount of rain, glad you pulled over and didn't take any chances on the road. It sounds like there's a lot of similar accidents with those duck boats.
 
Laurie said:
Am I correct in assuming that duck should be spelled D.U.K.W?
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You're correct, Laurie. They originated as amphibious landing craft in WWII, in fact, according to the article, the vessel that sank was actually constructed during WWII. They have them here in Boston as well and along with their touristy water tours, use them in parades on special occasions.
 
Laurie said:
Am I correct in assuming that duck should be spelled D.U.K.W?
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Like Dave said, you're correct, but DUCK is the more commonly used term for them, at least in the USA.

Originally deemed DUKW, the DC Ducks were designed based on the Army’s GMC 2 Ton 6×6 Trucks. DUKW’s, which affectionately became DUCKS to the many servicemen who appreciated their extraordinary mobility, was the result of a naming technique used by GMC. D, for the year it was designed, 1942, U for the utility nature of the vehicle (amphibious), K because it was all-wheel (like the K series GMC and Chevy Trucks) and W for the dual tandem rear axles
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twinkles said:
they said that none of them had life jackets on the captain said they didnt need them
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That's what I heard too, overly confident for the captain to say something like that, especially with children aboard, strange turned deadly. :(
 
SeaBreeze said:
Like Dave said, you're correct, but DUCK is the more commonly used term for them, at least in the USA.
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Thank you both. We call them Ducks too, but the reason I asked is that we also have something called a "duck punt", used for hunting high flying geese directly overhead, and wondered if your hunters used something similar.

We still have a few over here, and I went in one as a child, about 1948. Even now I can remember even now that they were pretty unstable!

I am pretty sure we had a similar tragedy a few years ago.

RIP and condolences to all affected.
 
I'm at a loss, initial reports had 7 dead then the number just kept growing. One family had 9 on that boat. These duck boats have problems in multiple cities. Also taking a boat out with an hour warning/forecast of severe storms?

RIP victims and best wishes to survivors.
 
This is so very sad and tragic. I read a story about the woman who lost 9 family members, including her husband and children. She told a little something about each of them...all of it about how loving each one was. I just can't fathom how she is still standing and breathing!! I pray for her and others who have suffered such tragedies. It's always been especially tragic when the day started out with people setting out to have fun.
 

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