Thread: Duck boat victims include 9 from one family, ship's driver, tourists

Originally Posted by Judy

What are you doing?

The life jacket crap is yours, Beezer, not mine. I'm not the one harping about life vests, you are. Why, I do not know. I've already said over and over that not wearing a life vest on a boat is not unusual, no one does, at least not on the lakes I've been on. You have them on the boat for an emergency or to water-ski, but no one wears them except to water-ski, and then some people do some don't, some need the buoyancy to get their ski or skis on, some don't, if the lake is busy you might wear one because you'll wear out treading water waiting for the boat to come circle back for you. I said in my world, no children are on the boats to begin with, too dangerous, not because you think the boat is going to sink, but because they mess with stuff they aren't supposed to touch, they drop things over the side and lose them, they spill stuff, they crawl all over and end up going over-board. The Duck Boats are different because they appear to be enclosed, but I wouldn't take kids onto a Duck Boat, I wouldn't even take them on a cruise ship. So lets be clear, my one year would NEVER be anywhere that they needed a LIFE JACKET for any reason.



Yes, immediately. You head straight across that lake to land, dock it on the shore, and pull out the beers. And, in a Duck Boat, that's so simple, because it's a water to land vehicle, so doing that is what it was actually designed to do!!

New duck boat policy on the books, a storm hits, dock the boat and party time ]

SO WHAT IS EXACTLY YOUR BEEF?

NO CANOPY

NO LIFE JACKETS

NO WAY TO GET OUT OF AN ENORMOUS WINDOW

NO PERSONAL RESPONSIBLTY TO PUT A JACKET ON YOUR CHILD OR ELDERLY PARENT?

SO YOU NEVER HAD A CHILD ON YOUR BOAT?

WHO ARE YOU BLAMING? ME?

I have no beef other than they should have gotten off the water immediately, that is number one rule of water safety in a storm, storm comes, you get off the water, immediately. This isn't the ocean where that's impossible, this is a lake, no more than a 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to land on two sides of you. Simple stuff if you're trained in water and boat safety.

The NTSB will do a thorough job, this article says it will take a year to complete their investigation.

Coast Guard raises 'duck boat' from Missouri lake

By Susan McFarland, Ed Adamczyk and Daniel Uria | Updated July 23, 2018 at 6:06 PM

July 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday raised an amphibious tour boat that sank in Missouri last week, killing 17 people.

It took Coast Guard crews an hour and a half to lift the vessel known as "duck boat" out of Table Rock Lake near Branson, where it sank Thursday while carrying 31 people.

"They attached a rig sling system to the duck as you can see. Once that was attached and secure they raised the vessel slightly to determine stability," Scott Stroermer of the Coast Guard said, according to Missouri's KOLR-TV. "Once that was complete and the divers were out of the area they raised it to the surface and once it was there they dewatered it and it will be moved to the boat ramp."

The boat sank in rough waters to an area 80 feet deep, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said. Seventeen passengers, including nine members of the same family, died.

After the boat was safely towed to shore, the Coast Guard determined the cause of the failure was "the rapidly worsening river conditions," but also cited a "failure to anticipate the change in the weather conditions," ABC News reported.

Coast Guard Lt. Tasha Sadowicz said the investigation will focus on the limits on when the boat could enter the water based on wind speed and the height of waves, established during annual inspections.

The investigation also will seek to determine whether the boat captain followed the company's guidelines on the use of life jackets, Coast Guard Capt. Scott Stoermer said.

Tia Coleman, who survived but lost her husband and three children, spoke with news media from her hospital bed. She said the captain of the boat told them they wouldn't need life preservers.

"My husband would want me to say this -- he would want the world to know that on this boat we were on, the captain had told us 'don't worry about grabbing the life jackets -- you won't need them' so nobody grabbed them," Coleman told Fox News. "However, in doing that, when it was time to grab them, it was too late and I believe that a lot of people could have been spared."

The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that passengers not wear life jackets on boats with canopies because when they sink, the life jackets can prevent escape by floating people to the top of the canopy and trapping them underneath.

The Coast Guard requires life jackets on non-canopied boats, but for amphibious tour boats, which are part boat and part bus, recommendations are left up to the captain. The boat that sank was equipped with life vests but passengers were not required to wear them, Rader said.

Removing canopies so passengers could escape easily during an emergency, adding backup buoyancy so boats could stay afloat if flooded and requiring passengers to wear life jackets are recommendations made by the NTSB 20 years ago to tourist "duck boats."

The NTSB is investigating the incident, questioning everything from the weather to the life jacket situation, to the actions of the crew. The probe could take up to one year. State investigators also were attempting to determine why the boat changed its usual route on Thursday.

The agency spelled out additional relevant safety measures in an accident report when the duck boat Miss Majestic sank in 1999 during a tour of Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Ark. Thirteen of the 21 passengers on board died, including three children.

"If the vehicle had not had a canopy, the passengers would not have had a barrier to vertical escape. They would not have been trapped inside the vehicle, and fewer passengers might have been killed," the report said. "The canopy on the Miss Majestic was a major impediment to the survival of the passengers."

The report also said the crew did not require life jackets to be worn and did not demonstrate how to don one if needed. It added that passengers were not given instructions on what to do if the boat starts to sink.

https://www.upi.com/Coast-Guard-rais...5101532208822/

Originally Posted by Judy

You haven't corrected that. Your report was 3 days before the statement made yesterday by the NSTB and the Governor and possibly the Sheriff too at the press briefing correcting that earlier report.

I don't have anything to correct, I am just sending links to correct your misinformation about the drivers body had not been found. Yes, my report was 3 days before you apparently had a dream about a statement (you won't provide a link).

You never provided a link to the press conference---and I have asked you for link at least 2 times.

I have provided at least 3 links to ALL BODIES HAVE BEEN RECOVERED.

Here is one more From July 20th

Missouri Governor holds press conference on duck boat sinking – Daily Mail

JULY 20, 2018PHCOCOADMIN NEWS - GLOBAL


All of the missing passengers on board the Ride with Ducks boat which capsized on Thursday night have now been found, bringing the total death toll from the tragedy to 17. The boat was on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, when it was overpowered with waves at 7pm. A severe storm warning had just been issued but it is not clear if the boat operators knew about it at the time. Seven people were hospitalized and 14 survived in total. Some of the dead are children.

http://phcoco.com/missouri-governor-holds-press-conference-on-duck-boat-sinking-daily-mail/

You're not convincing me of anything different from I heard for myself out of the mouths of the people actually in charge of this recovery and investigation yesterday. So like I said, knock yourself out.

Originally Posted by Judy

I have no beef other than they should have gotten off the water immediately, that is number one rule of water safety in a storm, storm comes, you get off the water, immediately. This isn't the ocean where that's impossible, this is a lake, no more than a 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to land on two sides of you. Simple stuff if you're trained in water and boat safety.

I see you edited this post---a minute ago you said the driver wasn't trained in water and boat safety.

I was trying to ask for a link to that, but it looks like you corrected that one.

Originally Posted by stoptheinvaders

I see you edited this post---a minute ago you said the driver wasn't trained in water and boat safety.

I was trying to ask for a link to that, but it looks like you corrected that one.

Why would you need a link from me? Don't you know whether or not the boat driver had water and boat safety training?

Originally Posted by Judy

Why would you need a link from me? Don't you know whether or not the boat driver had water and boat safety training?

No, I don't know----you were the one who said he didn't (before the edit) so I thought you might have a link, surely you wouldn't say something like that without some verification.

Oh I might. In fact I might do it right now, i don't think the driver who was licensed to operate the vehicle on land had water or boat safety training to operate the boat on water, because I don't think he has a license to operate the boat on water, which is usually a boat captain's license required to operate commercial boats including sightseeing boats. I don't know if Missouri requires one or not. If they do, then that could be a big problem for Ripley if he didn't have such a license. If Missouri doesn't require one, then shame on them.

What we know about the Missouri duck boat disaster

By Amir Vera, CNN
Updated 2:54 AM ET, Tue July 24, 2018

(CNN)Four days after the duck boat tragedy that claimed 17 lives -- including nine members of one family -- here are the latest developments, what is known, and what remains unknown about the capsizing and sinking of the Ride the Ducks Branson amphibious vessel:

The sunken boat was raised Monday

A duck boat that sank in Branson, Missouri, is raised out of the water.

The duck boat was raised to the surface of Table Rock Lake on Monday in an effort overseen by the Coast Guard. The boat was resting at the bottom of the lake, about 80 feet underwater.The Coast Guard 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.

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.

Changing route

The amphibious vessel changed the route it took on Thursday, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said Saturday. The boat capsized as a storm and high winds lashed the lake.Investigators want to know "when did the driver and (captain) of this vessel know about this storm forecast? When did they decide to alter the route of the boat?" he said. "Because they did alter the route of the boat. When did they decide that? Why?"

The state is looking into the incident to see whether any criminal acts were committed, Hawley said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating to determine the cause of the sinking. The NTSB investigation into the sinking could take up to a year to complete, boardmember Earl Weener said Friday.

The attorney general said investigators from the Missouri State Highway Patrol will also look at the boat's canopy and how difficult it was for the passengers and crew to get off during the chaotic event.

Early warning signs

In August 2017, mechanical inspector Steven Paul saw a glaring problem when he examined the duck boat.

"One of the most prominent things I found was the exhaust being in front of the vessel, which -- according to Department of Transportation standards -- would not pass regulation," he told CNN's "New Day" on Monday. "The exhaust has to come out past the passenger compartment."

When he saw footage of the boat sinking, Paul said "with the exhaust coming out the front and going down below the water line, the waves are obviously pushing water up in that exhaust." If water gets in the exhaust, he said, "the engine is eventually going to stop."

After telling the operator of the duck boat about his findings last year, Paul said he pretty much got a "Thank you for your report."

Paul said the regulation of duck boats need to be changed. Duck boats carry tourists on both water and land, so they're regulated by two separated agencies -- the Coast Guard for when the boat is on water, and the Department of Transportation when the vehicle is on land.

"There is a huge disconnect between the US Coast Guard and the Department of Transportation," Paul said.

Severe thunderstorms hit Branson

Branson

Branson is about 200 miles from Kansas City, and is considered a major family vacation destination.
The town was under a severe thunderstorm warning issued 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 Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader.

Jim Pattison Jr., president of the company that owns the duck boat tours, Ripley Entertainment Inc., said the ferocious squall "came out of nowhere."

"Obviously, we shouldn't be out there in severe weather," he said.

The victims

The victims ranged in age from 1 to 76 years, authorities said.

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.

One survivor lost 9 relatives

Tia Coleman and 10 of her relatives got on a duck boat to take a tour of Table Rock Lake during their family vacation.

Tia Coleman and 10 of her relatives were on a family vacation from Indiana, taking a tour Thursday of Table Rock Lake near the Missouri tourist hotspot of Branson.

Her husband, her three children and five other members of her family died in the accident. Their names 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.

Only she and her nephew survived when the boat sank.

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.'"

Since the disaster, a GoFundMe campaign to help Coleman has raised more than half a million dollars in just two days. As of Tuesday morning, $619,106 has been raised.

Elsewhere, Ride The Ducks Branson said it will pay all related medical bills and funeral expenses for victims. The company also said it will help with any travel or accommodation needs that will help victims' families.

No one was wearing a life jacket

The 17 people who died in the duck boat tragedy were not wearing life jackets when found, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Sunday.

There were life jackets on the boat, but passengers weren't required to wear them, according to Rader, the Stone County sheriff.

Coleman, one of the 14 survivors, said passengers were told there was a storm coming before the trip. The captain mentioned the life jackets before they went on the lake but said, "you won't need them so we didn't grab them," Coleman said Saturday.

"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.

She told CNN affiliate KOLR: "When that boat is found, all those life jackets are going to be on there because nobody pulled one off."

CNN's Faith Karimi, Joe Sutton, Ryan Prior, Madison Park, Eric Levenson, Jason Hanna, AnneClaire Stapleton, Steve Almasy and contributed to this report.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/24/us/mi...ion/index.html

Since the disaster, a GoFundMe campaign to help Coleman has raised more than half a million dollars in just two days. As of Tuesday morning, $619,106 has been raised.

Oh that is so good, I hope these funds are set up for the other victims families, too. People are so generous. This is such a heart-breaking story