Seventeen people have been confirmed dead after a duck boat capsized in stormy weather near Branson Thursday evening.
All missing people appeared to have been accounted for. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader confirmed the total number of fatalities just after 10:15 a.m. Friday.
A spokesman with the Missouri Highway Patrol said the age range of those who died was from 1 to 70 years old, according to AP.
Rader said the boat’s captain survived but the driver did not.
Seven people were taken to hospitals, two with critical injuries.
Speaking at a press conference Friday morning, Rader said the first emergency call for the boat was at 7:09 pm. It sank in 80 feet of water and was upright when found by divers. The boat has not yet been removed from water.
There reportedly were 31 people on the “Ride the Ducks” boat, a vehicle that goes from land to water and is a popular attraction for tourists at Table Rock Lake. Some people were able to swim to shore, according to media reports.
Jim Pattison Jr., the president of Ripley Entertainment, spoke about the incident to CBS news.
“Never had an incident like this or anything close to it,” said Pattison, who traveled to Branson.
The sheriff said the boats had life jackets on board.
