MO - Duck boat carrying 31 tourists capsizes, killing 17, near Branson, July 2018

[MAVLEY]

warning rough to watch

kinda angry obviously boat this was shot from was much bigger it could have gotten in front of the little one resulting in much calmer water for the little one just sailing along like that

this is triggering bad stuff

years and years ago we were on a private deal down the intercoastal for my uncles birthday

my little sister and i were chatting (both of us were flirty and when out would try to guess if a cute guy was gay or hetero and would flirt!) there was a cute guy on a ski jet right next to us

he was cute!!!!!

then he sped off and slammed into a boey

we ran all over trying to find the bridge on the thing finally did and hysterically told the captain what had happened and were screaming at him to turn around and he could care less doing all this we are too big to turn around at the location we were at he could care less

OR for my sister and I it was to the captain he is right back there ( we certainly were not on a speedboat -- we were slow moving) just put her in reverse slowly we can all go on the back and make sure we don't hit him ( it was nighttime - it was big cruiser for private parties i am sure they had plenty of lights and all the lights on ours could have been turned up )

jet ski was going fast at impact it was horrid to do this day have no idea what happened this was way before internet

it was a very very upsetting for my sister and I and after we left the bridge it was like no one in our family cared either it was messed up god forbid miss the lobster

it was all this crap We are sure the coast guard is on its way

it was not like the rest of the people celebrating his birthday did not believe us it was like it will be taken care we are continuing with the birthday celebration

was so pissed at each and every one of them

screw the lobster and all the other la de da stuff ugh

IMO, if the Belle had gotten closer to the Ducks it would have just caused more harm. In an open Area like that, there isn't a way to block the wind and waves. The Duck would have had to be so close to the Belle to have any assistance that the propellers would have possibly caused more harm.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Duck Boat excursions were available when DH were on an Alaskan cruise and in Halifax, NS on a Canada/New England sailing. We thought it looked like fun but chose other tours instead. Not sure I'd want to do a Duck Boat excursion after this tragedy. Has anyone here ever done one of these tours? How was it? Did you feel safe?

 

[dotr]

Before accident in Missouri, duck boats had history of fatalities

"Duck boats — amphibious vehicles that can travel on both land and water — have a long history of fatal crashes and accidents.

At least 13 people died and more are missing after a Ride the Ducks craft capsized on Table Rock Lake late Thursday. The boat, carrying a reported 31 passengers, sank as a storm lashed the lake with severe winds.

Some of the fatal incidents over the years have involved duck boat operators with the same company that operates Ride the Ducks in Branson."

 

[Jewels53]

I know Ride the Ducks in the Branson area have been around for a long time. I think they were around when my kids were little around 30-35 years ago. I don't know of any history of accidents in Branson, but I haven't lived in the area for a while.

It was the weather that caused this tragedy the Duck shouldn't have been in the water. So I can't blame it on the vehicle. It was man's poor judgment that caused this to happen. imo

 

[4SAM]

I just don't know where the blame lands. How long were they out there before the storm? Someone has mentioned that there was a storm posting about 2:00 PM yeasterday. If they were out there and the storm happened all of a sudden, like I feel I was in here in Springfield, it looks like the drivers were trying to get back to shore and the waves were just overcoming the boat. MOO

 

[CARIIS]

Cariis, the smartphone video was taken by a diner in a lakeside restaurant, but I feel your pain about witnessing something so horrible and being ignored.

oh! Was wondering how on earth the person was not moving the cell !!

and this info when I just read this I thought wow that is amazing how that incident years ago resulted in the notion that it was out on the water parallel to the boat in distress - just like that night - memories and current influences huh?

never once even crossed my mind that it was not from a vessel on the water and they were land based

 

[CARIIS]

I just don't know where the blame lands. How long were they out there before the storm? Someone has mentioned that there was a storm posting about 2:00 PM yeasterday. If they were out there and the storm happened all of a sudden, like I feel I was in here in Springfield, it looks like the drivers were trying to get back to shore and the waves were just overcoming the boat. MOO

Its like that here too can be different in 30 seconds

 

[Really?]

I’m curious.......aren’t life jackets mandatory on a vessel like this. If not, why not ?

 

[Sd8503]

I’m curious.......aren’t life jackets mandatory on a vessel like this. If not, why not ?

Yes they have life jackets on the boats. My first thought was why didnt they put the life jackets on but maybe they did and juat couldnt get out for some reason. It seems like they would be able to though. When ive been on they were open. I can see some kind of plastic blowing on the windows of one boat but not sure what that is. Like I said everytime ive been on it was open.

 

[CARIIS]

The DUKW (colloquially known as Duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibiousmodification of the 2½ ton CCKW trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War.

Designed by a partnership under military auspices of Sparkman & Stephensand General Motors Corporation (GMC), the DUKW was used for the transportation of goods and troops over land and water. Excelling at approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious warfare attacks, it was intended only to last long enough to meet the demands of combat. Surviving DUKWs have since found popularity as tourist craft in marine environments.

The DUKW was supplied to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and Allied forces, and 2,000 were supplied to Britain under the Lend-Leaseprogram;[15] 535 were acquired by Australian forces,[16] and 586 were supplied to the Soviet Union, which built its own version, the BAV 485, after the war. DUKWs were initially sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific Theater, but were used by an invasion force for the first time in the European theater, during the Sicilian invasion, Operation Husky, in the Mediterranean. They were used on the D-Day beaches of Normandy and in the Battle of the Scheldt, Operation Veritable, and Operation Plunder. Amphibious beachheads were thought to be highly vulnerable to early counterattack as the landing units would deplete their ammunition and the supply system would not yet be established. The principal use was to ferry supplies from ship to shore, and tasks such as transporting wounded combatants to hospital ships or operations in flooded (polder) landscape.[citation needed]

Wiki

kinda silly looking

 

[flute4peace]

Duck Boat excursions were available when DH were on an Alaskan cruise and in Halifax, NS on a Canada/New England sailing. We thought it looked like fun but chose other tours instead. Not sure I'd want to do a Duck Boat excursion after this tragedy. Has anyone here ever done one of these tours? How was it? Did you feel safe?

I lived in the Branson area from 1989-1999. During that time I probably rode them 3 or 4 times, and took another ride last summer on a visit - but working for a few years on the strip I saw oodles and oodles of them drive by. I wouldn't say I felt unsafe riding one - it's just like any other open-air tour bus or boat type thing.

Before accident in Missouri, duck boats had history of fatalities

"Duck boats — amphibious vehicles that can travel on both land and water — have a long history of fatal crashes and accidents.

At least 13 people died and more are missing after a Ride the Ducks craft capsized on Table Rock Lake late Thursday. The boat, carrying a reported 31 passengers, sank as a storm lashed the lake with severe winds.

Some of the fatal incidents over the years have involved duck boat operators with the same company that operates Ride the Ducks in Branson."

Frankly, I feel like this headline is somewhat misleading. It goes without saying that even one accident/fatality is too many, and I don't want to discount that loss in any way. But when one considers that literally thousands of people ride them every day in Branson (and other places, I'm sure), the accident rate actually seems quite low. I would be interested in finding some statistics on the Ducks as compared to tour busses, planes etc.

In this specific case, the weather was a significant factor. The storm apparently came up quickly and they couldn't make it out in time. I'm trying to reserve judgment on whether that was human error or just a freak thing until after an official investigation is completed.

Finally - as a member of the media and more importantly of the human race, I am beyond disappointed that the video of the accident is being shown. These families are suffering enough. They don't need to see their personal tragedy played out for the world to see. IMHO.

 

[Hippononymous]

I’ve been on a Duck boat tour before (not in Branson) and what strikes me as tragic is that the operator of ours, and I assume many of them—especially in tourist destinations, was a young college student. In fact, part of the spiel was asking for money for the college students working there. I doubt she knew much about handling a boat in rough water. I don’t know if that’s the case here, but it looks like, from the video, it could have been. Also, we did have life jackets on ours. I wonder where they were on this boat.

 

[Cryptic]

It was the weather that caused this tragedy the Duck shouldn't have been in the water. So I can't blame it on the vehicle. It was man's poor judgment that caused this to happen. imo

The fault is probably with both the vehicle design and the operator.

The vehicle was designed with “war logic” that led to its strengths (fast, large, mechanically reliable, amphibious) to take priority over the fact that the vehicle was not very safe by peace time standards and there was little room for error on the water. Avoidable drownings of a certain number of soldiers in accidents were then accepted because using large numbers of the Ducks saved far more soldier's lives in the long run.

 

[Hippononymous]

Yes they have life jackets on the boats. My first thought was why didnt they put the life jackets on but maybe they did and juat couldnt get out for some reason. It seems like they would be able to though. When ive been on they were open. I can see some kind of plastic blowing on the windows of one boat but not sure what that is. Like I said everytime ive been on it was open.

31 people is a lot for that boat. If they waited to try to get out after it sunk, I could see why people drowned. Kinda like people getting trampled in a crowded room trying to all get out at once.

 

[Really?]

17 now.......sad

 

[Hippononymous]

I wonder if the driver made any distress calls. Or if anyone else called for help.

 

[jggordo]

I believe the biggest factor for this Duck Boat is the canopy top. The canopy can and will fill with high strength wind and air to be a sail. Living here in MO can make one a little immune to weather casts. As SAM has said the weather can be calm one minute and turn SO fast. When being on the water it can take time to get back to port. But I wonder with it being amphibious could it not find a place to land without the dock? Maybe I'm just being stupid.

JMO

 

[jggordo]

BRANSON, Mo. (KY3/AP) — Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader confirms 17 died in a Ride the Ducks sinking. The sheriff now says all 31 on board the duck is accounted for in the tragedy.

Authorities blamed stormy weather for the accident Thursday evening on Table Rock Lake. Winds at the time were blowing as hard as 65 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Stone County Sheriff: 17 dead, 14 survivors in deadly Ride the Ducks sinking

 

[4SAM]

Stone County Sheriff: 17 dead, 14 survivors in deadly Ride the Ducks sinking

 

[4SAM]

According to the dock situation, I am not sure how many are out there in the vicinty. I think they were probably just trying to get to the first one. As I said earlier, people thought it was the Branson Belle because of the location. Sounds like the duck boats are not usually in that particular area. MOO