Duck boat to undergo examination

The investigation into the sinking of a sightseeing boat that claimed 17 lives will look at whether operators violated Coast Guard rules by venturing onto a Missouri lake as thunderstorms rolled in, a Coast Guard official said Monday.

More than three days after the deadly accident, a crane attached to a barge pulled the amphibious duck boat from Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri.

Divers attached a sling to the 33-foot, 4-ton vessel, then raised and drained it, officials said. It was to be loaded onto a vehicle and turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Coast Guard Lt. Tasha Sadowicz, of the agency’s St. Louis office, said the boat that capsized and sank was known as “Stretch The duck boat that sank in Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo., is pulled out of the water Monday.

Duck 07.” Like all 22 duck boats in operation in Branson, it was required to undergo annual inspections.

But Sadowicz said the Coast Guard’s “certificate of inspection” placed limits on when the boats can enter the water based on wind speed and “sea state,” which refers to the height of waves.

Sadowicz did not have information on

Stretch Duck 07’s limits but said they will be a focal point of the investigation.

A Missouri lawmaker said change is needed to improve the safety of amphibious vehicles like duck boats. Cassville Republican Sen. David Sater on Monday said he’s waiting on the results of the federal investigation into Thursday’s accident but pledged

that “this issue will not get dropped.”

Meanwhile, a prayer vigil was held Monday night in an Indianapolis church for members of a family that lost nine of its members when the duck boat sank.

Hundreds of people gathered at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church to show their support for the Coleman family.