At least eight people killed when tourist boat capsizes on Missouri Lake

At least eight people were killed and seven others were injured when a land / water pbadenger boat with 31 people on board capsized and sank during high winds on a lake from Missouri. authorities said Thursday night.

The incident occurred around 19 hours. (8 pm ET) During violent storms on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Stone County Sheriff, Doug Rader, said:

"I think it was due to the weather, yes," he said. KYTV, an NBC affiliate in Springfield, reported that heavy thunderstorms blowing up to 60mph were moving in the area at that time

Seven people, some of whom were children, were treated Cox Health Medical Center, two of them in critical condition, said a spokeswoman.

The status of the remaining occupants of the boat was not immediately clear. Rader said that the search and rescue operations remained in progress.

"It will be a difficult night and tomorrow," Rader told reporters. some of those on board were children.

The Table Rock Lake Chamber of Commerce and Visitors stated that she was aware of the incident, but that she referred all calls to local authorities. He asked the prayers of people, as Missouri Gov Mike Parsons .

CORRECTION (July 19, 2018, 11:15 pm ET): An earlier version of this article has been misidentified Eric Nielsen . He is spokesman for the South Stone County Fire Protection District, not the West Taney County Fire Department.