Branson Duck Boat Shouldn't Have Been On The Water: Coast Guard

BRANSON, MO — A duck boat that capsized on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, killing 17 people, should never have been on the lake to begin with, according to Coast Guard investigators. While the duck boat passed a Coast Guard inspection, the agency said, the certificate it issued stipulated that the boat "shall not be operated waterborne" in winds over 35 miles per hour or waves higher than 2 feet.

The boat overturned in a severe thunderstorm with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour and cellphone video shows waves much higher than 2 feet.

Investigators say "black box" recordings recovered from the boat indicate that the lake was calm when tour began, but the National Weather Service had issued multiple weather warnings more than half an hour before the storm struck.

Video from a second 'Ride The Ducks' boat that made it safely back to shore. It was on the water at Table Rock Lake at the same time as the boat that capsized. (Credit: Paul Lemus) pic.twitter.com/AKQmWfdoal
— Jason Boatright (@TheJasonBoat) July 20, 2018

Officials said the investigation would continue.

"The Coast Guard will conduct a thorough and detailed investigation to identify all potential causal factors associated with this tragedy," Capt. Wayne Arguin, chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation, said in the news release.

Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigators are also working to determine whether the company was monitoring severe weather alerts and whether the captain and crew acted appropriately.

"We think [the video] will show any instructions [the captain] might have given to the passengers," said NTSB spokesman Earl Weener.

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Victims of the Branson disaster include nine members of the same Indianapolis family.

"I lost all of my children. I lost my husband. I lost my mother-in-law and my father-in-law. I lost my uncle. I lost my sister-in-law… And I lost my nephew," survivor Tia Coleman of Indianapolis told the local Fox station. "I'm okay, but this is really hard."

A GoFundMe campaign for the Coleman family has raised about three-quarters of its $1 million goal.

Authorities released the names of all 17 people killed:

• William Asher, 69, from Missouri
• Rosemarie Hamann, 68, from Missouri
• Janice Bright, 63, from Missouri
• William Bright, 65, from Missouri
• Angela Coleman, 45, from Indiana
• Arya Coleman, 1, from Indiana
• Belinda Coleman, 69, from Indiana
• Ervin Coleman, 76, from Indiana
• Evan Coleman, 7, from Indiana
• Glenn Coleman, 40, from Indiana
• Horace Coleman, 70, from Indiana
• Maxwell Coleman, 2, from Indiana
• Reece Coleman, 9, from Indiana
• Leslie Dennison, 64, from Illinois
• Bob Williams, 73, from Missouri
• Lance Smith, 15, from Arkansas
• Steve Smith, 15, from Arkansas

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

Photo: A vehicle of one of the Ride The Ducks accident victims is seen as it has become a memorial on July 20, 2018 in Branson, Missouri. Hundreds of mourners stopped by the location to pay their respects to the victims after a duck boat capsized in Table Rock Lake in a thunderstorm on Thursday. (Photo by Michael Thomas/Getty Images)