BRANSON, Mo. – Divers on Friday pulled the last four bodies from the wreckage of a “duck boat” that sank in a storm in a Missouri lake, killing 17 people in one of the deadliest U.S. tourist incidents in recent years.
Officials pulled the bodies of four people from the sunken duck boat 80 feet under water, Ozarks Public Radio reported, citing Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader.
READ MORE: Before deadly Seattle crash, critics called duck boats too dangerous
Patrol divers found two more bodies early Friday, raising the death toll from 11 to 13, Pace said.
A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults are in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said Thursday that stormy weather likely made the boat capsize. Another duck boat on the lake made it safely back to shore.
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Intense wind, swollen lake blamed for tragic Missouri duck boat accident -
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Video from duck boat that safely escaped Missouri storm shows intensity of wind, waves -
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Missouri duck boat passengers attended to after fatal capsizing -
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Multiple Missouri duck boat passengers confirmed dead after capsizing: Police -
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8 dead, 7 injured after duck boat capsizes near Branson, Missouri
Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Springfield, Missouri, said the agency issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Branson area Thursday evening. Lindenberg said winds reached speeds of more than 60 mph (100 kph).
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“It’s a warning telling people to take shelter,” he said.
Rader said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security for the boat company helped rescue people after the boat capsized. Dive teams from several law enforcement agencies assisted in the effort.
READ MORE: State suspends operations of Seattle tour firm after crash
The National Transportation Safety Board said investigators will arrive on the scene Friday morning.
Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities with the rescue effort. Smagala added this was the Branson tour’s only accident in more than 40 years of operation.
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Missouri police confirm 13 killed in fatal duck boat accident -
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Duck boat accident: Police received 1st call after vessel capsized -
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Authorities unsure what events that led to fatal duck boat accident -
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Missouri police confirm duck boat captain survived capsizing -
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Life jackets believed to be on board duck boat at time of accident
Branson is about 320 kilometres southeast of Kansas City and is a popular vacation spot for families and other tourists looking for entertainment ranging from theme parks to live music. An EF2 tornado that bounced through downtown Branson in 2012 destroyed dozens of buildings and injured about three dozen people, but killed no one.
Duck boats, which can travel on land and in water, have been involved in other deadly incidents in the past. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus, and 13 people died in 1999 when a duck boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Safety advocates have sought improvements since the Arkansas deaths. Critics argued that part of the problem is that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements.
Duck boats were originally used by the U.S. military in World War II to transport troops and supplies, and later were modified for use as sightseeing vehicles.
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