On the evening of July 19, 2018, a duck boat operated by Ride the Ducks sank on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks near Branson, Missouri, in the United States. The amphibious vehicle overturned with 31 people on board, leaving 17 dead, during high winds associated with nearby severe thunderstorms.
Video Table Rock Lake duck boat accident
Background
The DUKW ("Duck" or "duck boat") is a wheeled amphibious vehicle used by the United States military and its allies during the later years of World War II and the Korean War. The vehicles became available in surplus after the Korean War, and a veteran in Minnesota began a business giving rides aboard the vessels to tourists on the Wisconsin River. Over the last 50 years, the practice has expanded to other areas. Several major tourist destinations in the United States feature duck boat tours, including Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Before the Table Rock Lake accident, there had been several other fatal incidents involving duck boats, notably one near Hot Springs, Arkansas on May 1, 1999 in which 13 people died. That incident was attributed to several factors, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB); inadequate maintenance was the main cause, with other contributing factors including inadequate reserve buoyancy and the continuous canopy roof over the passenger cabin preventing escape. Among others, recommendations were made for amphibious passenger vehicles to either add additional buoyancy to prevent sinking when flooded, or require passengers to wear life jackets and remove the canopy to allow escape in the event of a sinking.
Maps Table Rock Lake duck boat accident
Accident
The accident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Central Daylight Time on July 19, 2018, as a line of severe thunderstorms approached the Branson area. Approximately an hour prior to the accident, the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for areas around the lake. It is not known whether the two crew members aboard the vessel were aware of the warning or what action they attempted to take. The National Weather Service reports that winds in the area at the time were in excess of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h), and the storm over the lake was moving very quickly and causing three-foot (one-meter) waves on the lake.
The vessel was one of two owned by Ride the Ducks on the lake at the time, and it began taking on water. The first 911 call was received at 7:09 as the boat was already going under the water, according to the local sheriff. Local officials reported the following morning that all passengers and crew aboard the vessel had been accounted for and confirmed a total of 17 deaths. The ages of those who died in the accident ranged from 1 to 70 years old, and nine were members of a single family. None of the passengers or crew were wearing a life jacket when the boat sank.
Investigation and aftermath
The NTSB dispatched investigators to the accident site the following day. In response to previous incidents involving duck boats, the NTSB had issued strong warnings about the design of the vehicles and the danger posed to passengers by their overhead canopies.
Jim Pattison Jr., president of Ride the Ducks, told the media that the storm "came out of nowhere", then moved through the area and led to the accident. Tia Coleman lost nine family members in the accident; she claimed that the crew specifically told passengers not to put on life jackets because they would not need them.
Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, Georgia, suspended their duck boat rides the day after the accident.
The boat was raised from the bottom of the lake by the US Coast Guard on July 23, 2018, after being examined and photographed by divers. Divers also recovered a recording device from the boat, about 80 feet (24 m) below the surface. Ride the Ducks has announced that it will pay for funeral and medical expenses for the passengers on board the boat.
See also
- Ethan Allen boating accident (2005), similar capsizing in upstate New York
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments