BRANSON, Mo. — The Coast Guard and the Missouri Highway Patrol led an effort Monday morning to recover the duck boat that capsized and sank last week, killing 17 people.
Crews attached a sling to the boat and once it surfaced, they de-watered the vessel and loaded it onto a flat-bed trailer into a secure facility. Then the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
The duck-boat on it’s way out pic.twitter.com/4edmEWCgHR
— Tyler Navas 📹 (@navasphoto) July 23, 2018
According to Coast Guard Captain Scott Stoermer, one of the focuses of this investigation will be whether or not proper protocol was followed in accordance with the operational manual with Ride the Ducks.
Another will be the vessel’s condition at the time of the incident. By the Dewey Short Visitor Center, many people wanted a glimpse of the recovery effort as they reflected on the tragedy.
“It’s sad, it really is, it’s so sad,” said John Kramer visiting from Pennsylvania.
They wanted to watch the boat come out of the water, “Show a little support towards the families.”
A memorial of painted rocks lays along the shoreline, 17 rocks for the 17 victims in this accident.
“There’s so many families that come here. It’s a beautiful place to have vacation rooms, and I just hope that God will comfort those people,” said Christina Mingorance.
It took crews a little over two hours to take the boat out of the water.
The investigation could take up to a year to fully be completed.
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