Duck Boat Capsizes Near Branson, MO — 11 Dead, 6 Missing

Posted on by July 20, 2018

At least 11 people died on Thursday when an amphibious duck boat capsized in Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo. Six people are still missing. The boat capsized in a thunderstorm in winds reported to be 70 or 80 mph. Of the 31 people on the boat, 29 were passengers and two were crew members. Seven people were taken to a hospital, and two people are reported to be in critical condition at Cox Medical Center Branson. Two duck boats were on the lake when the storm hit. One boat was able to make it to shore.

This may be the worst duck boat tragedy in history. In 1999, 13 died when a duck boat sank in Arkansas after a mechanical failure. Two duck boat passengers also died in 2010 when a duck boat was run down by a barge in the Delaware River.  

In recent years, the duck boat fatalities have been onshore. In 2016, a woman on a motor scooter died after being struck by a duck boat in Boston. Four died when a duck boat collided with a tour bus in Seattle in 2015.

As noted by the BBC: There are hundreds of so-called duck boats in use around the world. The amphibious vehicles are popular with tourists and have been providing tours for decades.

While duck boats have been involved in a number of fatal accidents over the years, such incidents are relatively rare. In the past two decades, more fatalities have been recorded in connection with golf courses than duck boats, according to US statistics.

 

Comments

Duck Boat Capsizes Near Branson, MO — 11 Dead, 6 Missing — 6 Comments

  3. From my local newspaper chroniclet.com

    *Steve Lindenberg, a
    National Weather Service
    meteorologist in
    Springfield, Missouri, said
    the agency issued a
    severe thunderstorm
    warning for the Branson
    area Thursday evening.
    Lindenberg said winds
    reached speeds of more
    than 60 mph.
    “It’s a warning telling
    people to take shelter,”
    he said.

  5. Kansas City news station explained that the passengers are not required to wear flotation jackets. the jackets are stored above the seats over the passengers heads. The area is a man made lake. When the vehicle rolled/capsized it sank around 40 feet, than slid down the side of the dammed area another 40 feet. The National Weather Service had the area in a severe weather advisory issued two days prior. Storms can be hit or miss but they had time to come off the water and didn’t until it was too late. The Driver died, the Captain is in the hospital. Haven’t been to the area but apparently there are several companies using ‘duck’ boats. Usually we hear about party pontoons crashing into each other. This was families.

  6. It looks like the passenger area was walled in with glass and totally enclosed, as such the passengers should have had their life preservers at the ready but not wearing them because it can trap people in the cabin exactly like on a plane “in case of a water landing put your life preservers on but wait until you exit the plane to inflate them”.