Missouri ‘duck boat’ sinks in Table Rock Lake leaving at least 11 dead and several missing

At least 11 people including children have died after a tourist boat carrying more than 30 people capsized and sank on a lake in Missouri.

Five people remain missing and seven others were rushed to hospital after the “Ride the Ducks” boat became submerged in Table Rock Lake in Branson, police said.

Two adults are fighting for their lives and others were treated for minor injuries, officials said following the shocking incident on Thursday.

Stormy weather is believed to have caused the boat to capsize, with 63mph gusts of wind reported nearby at about 7.30pm. Another duck boat made it safely back to shore.

Rescue crews work at the scene
AP

Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area on Thursday evening, and winds reached speeds of more than 60mph.

"It's a warning telling people to take shelter," he said.

An off-duty police officer working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the accident, Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said.

Dive teams from a number of law enforcement agencies were assisting in the rescue effort, but the sheriff said the divers had ended their search for the night.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that investigators will arrive on Friday morning.

Suzanne Smagala, of Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. She added this was the Branson tour's first accident in more than 40 years of operation.

Branson is about 200 miles south east of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music.

Duck boats, known for their ability to travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. They include one in 2015 in Seattle in which five college students were killed when a boat collided with a bus, and one in 1999 that left 13 dead after the boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Safety advocates have sought improvements to the boats since the Arkansas incident. Critics argued that part of the problem is numerous agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.

Duck boats were originally used by the US military in the Second World War to transport troops and supplies, and were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT