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BRANSON, MO (AP) – More than half of the 17 people killed during the sinking of a tourist boat on a Branson lake belonged to the same family of Indiana, and did not. probably would not have made the trip unfortunate Tracy Beck, of Kansas City, Missouri, said she remembered the family members lining up. After being stopped to take a picture, a ticket taker realized that they should have gone up to another place and reassigned them.
Other people who died in the Table Rock Lake accident included a Missouri couple who had recently celebrated her birthday. a former Rhode Island pastor who operated the boat and a father and son from Indiana.
The Stone County Sheriff's Department identified members of the Indiana family as Angela Coleman, 45, Arya Coleman, 69. Belinda Coleman, Ervin Coleman, 76, Evan Coleman, 7, Glenn Coleman, 40, Horace Coleman, 70, Maxwell Coleman, 2, and 9 … Old Reece Coleman
A parent of the family, Kim Thomas Sr., said that they were taking the news
"Children are doing better than us, we must live in this world, they have gone to the other side," said Thomas, 51, from Indianapolis, whose cousin, Tia Coleman, was one of two family members to survive the accident at Table Rock Lake near Branson
William Asher , 69, Rosemarie Hamann, 68, Janice Bright, 63, William Bright, 65, and Bob Williams, a 73-year-old crew member who operates the boat and hails from Missouri. Also killed were Leslie Dennison, 64, of Illinois, and Steve Smith, 53, and his son, Lance Smith, 15, both from Arkansas.
Federal and state investigators were trying to determine what was happening sent the ship known as a duck to his disappearance in what was the deadliest accident of his kind at the beginning of two decades. An initial assessment blamed storms and winds that were approaching the force of hurricanes, but it was not clear why the amphibious vehicle even ventured into the water.
The National Weather Service issued Thursday a severe storm warning for the region. ripe for winds of 70 mph (113 km / h). He followed at 6:32 pm with a severe thunderstorm warning for three counties that included Branson and the lake. The warning mentioned both locations. The boat came down about 40 minutes later, shortly after 7 pm
"When we issue a warning, it means taking action," said meteorologist Kelsey Angle
Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, owner of Ride the Ducks at Branson. , said the company was assisting the authorities in their investigation. She said that it was the only accident of the company in more than 40 years of operation.
Twenty-nine passengers and two crew members were on board. Seven of the 14 survivors were injured. The captain survived, the authorities said.
Among the wounded was 14 year old Loren Smith of Osceola, Arkansas. His father, Steve Smith, retired maths teacher, and his brother died in the accident. Loren suffered a concussion
"It's a difficult thing," said Steve Smith's father, Carroll Smith, of having lost his only child and his only grandson. "It's a very difficult day."
Brayden Malaske, of Harrah, Oklahoma, boarded a replica of a 19th-century paddle steamer known as Branson Belle on the same lake just before the storm hits
. he said, the water seemed calm, and no one was worried about the weather.
"But he suddenly became very dark," he recalls.
In a short video taken by Malaske from the Belle Bridge, one can see the duck wallowing through the lake whirling and flapping, with water a few inches from its windows . Dark, rolling waves crush on the front. Later, people on the Malaske ship saw a duck boat passenger "hanging on for darling life" at the Belle paddlewheel,
Branson Mayor Karen Best said Williams, the boat's driver , was known by many as "Captain Bob" and was a "great ambassador" for the city. "He was at every event, he knew everyone, he was still promoting Branson," the Best Family "
Williams in Rhode Island, where he had lived for decades before retiring to Branson, remembered him as a deeply religious man. "Pastor Bob was a prince of a man, loving, kind and generous, whose loss to our family is incalculable," said Williams' son-in-law, Mgr Jeffery Williams, who Now "I truly believe in my heart that he died trying to save these people," said one of Williams' neighbors, Charlie's "Ray" Revill, at a vigil on Friday. evening. "Bob Williams was the best man I've ever known."
Hamann and Asher, a couple from the St. Louis area killed in the crash, celebrated the anniversary of Hamman earlier in the week, his final Facebook photo was a selfie with Asher, he pulls out his tongue and she
Friend Russ McKay said he had spoken to Hamann the day before the accident to tell him that they had just done a pedal boat and that they were planning to go to school. to go back there. He does not know why they chose duck instead.
"I can only imagine what they lived, they were so in love, it's just heartbreaking," said McKay
a family survivor who nine parents said that the captain told the passengers not to bother to grab lifejackets.
Tia Coleman told WXIN that she and a nephew were the only survivors among 11 family members aboard the ship. She said that she lost all her children, but she did not say how many.
Coleman said that the captain had told passengers that they would not need life jackets. At the time of the accident, "it was too late."
An email requesting Ripley Entertainment's comment about Coleman's comment was not immediately returned.
Named for their ability to travel on land and in the water, ducks have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including the deaths of more than 40 people since 1999.
Five students were killed in Seattle in 2015 when a duck collided with a bus. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
"Ducks are deadly traps," said Andrew Duffy, a lawyer with the Philadelphia law firm. "They are not fit for water or land because they are half car and half boat."
Security advocates sought improvements and complained that too many agencies regulate boats with varying security requirements. for the military, especially for transporting troops and supplies in the Second World War. They were later modified for use as touring vehicles
The Ride the Ducks tour begins in downtown Branson, where vehicles take passengers on tour while the captain makes jokes and points of reference. Eventually, the boats move towards the lake and slowly enter the water with a small splash.
After a few minutes on the water, the vehicles come back to the ground and to their base, which houses a shop selling candies and souvenirs.
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Associate press writers Phillip Marcelo in Boston; Sara Burnett in Chicago; Brian Slodysko at Indianapolis; Hannah Grabenstein in Branson; Jim Salter in St. Louis; and Monika Mathur, an AP researcher in New York, contributed to this report.
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