Nine members of a family among 17 victims of U.S. tourist boat tragedy
News & Trends •
they ranged in age from one-year-old arya coleman to the oldest victim ervin coleman 761 nine members of one family were among 17 people killed when an amphibious us tourist boat capsized during a sudden storm on a missouri lake a tragedy which raised renewed questions on saturday about the safety of the craft known as duck boats1 the accident occurred thursday night in full view of witnesses at least one of whom captured video of the vessel bobbing in rough waters on table rock lake near the city of branson a vacation destination popular for its theaters and country music1 my heart is very heavy. out of 11 of us theres only two thats surviving thats me and my nephew tia coleman her voice breaking told fox59 from her hospital bed1 i lost all of my children. i lost my husband. i lost my mother-in-law and my father-in-law along with other relatives she told the indianapolis tv station1 coleman said the boats captain had told passengers earlier in their trip that they wont need life jackets1 he said it when we were in the water she told fox59. when it was time to grab them it was too late and i believe that a lot of people could have been spared1 she added that the water didnt look ominous at the very first1 coleman told cnn affiliate kolr of her own near-death by drowning i was yelling i was screaming and finally i said lord just let me die let me die. she eventually floated to the surface1 early saturday the stone county sheriffs office confirmed to afp the identity of the 17 victims nine of whom had the name coleman1 the hybrid vessels with wheels allowing them to drive on city roads but which can also travel on water are popular with tourists in many cities1 five of the dead were aged 15 or younger1 police said 31 people were aboard the vessel which was covered by a canopy and was seen struggling to reach shore against strong winds before it succumbed to the waves and began to sink1 the dead included the boats driver according to the sheriffs office. the other crew member who survived was in charge when the craft took to the water us media reported1 several people were injured1 the national transportation safety board ntsb has taken over the investigation which follows previous fatal accidents involving duck boats1 in 2002 the agency recommended that amphibious vehicles provide reserve buoyancy such as through watertight compartmentalization to keep them afloat in the event of flooding1 the advisory followed the 1999 sinking of the miss majestic a former us army landing vehicle with the loss of 13 lives in hot springs arkansas because of inadequate maintenance1 until reserve buoyancy retrofits were completed the ntsb urged other safety measures including the removal of canopies or installation of canopies that would not restrict passenger escape1 it also found that at that time the us coast guard lacked uniform nationwide inspection policies for duck boats1