9 of 17 people who died in duck boat accident are from one family

Nine of the 17 people who died in a duck boat accident were from the same family, a spokesperson for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday. Another two members of the same family survived when the boat capsized on Table Rock Lake near the tourist town of Branson, the spokesperson said.

The governor’s office had no other information about the family members. Authorities have not yet identified the victims.

Authorities blamed stormy weather for the accident. Winds at the time were blowing as hard as 65 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Twenty-nine passengers and two crew members were on the boat when it capsized. The boat’s driver was among those killed.

Fourteen people survived, including seven who were injured when the boat went down, state police said. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace said those who died ranged in age from 1 to 70 years old.

Jim Pattison Jr., the president of Ripley Entertainment, which owns the duck boat tour company involved in the incident, told “CBS This Morning” on Friday the boat “shouldn’t have been in the water.”

“I don’t have all the details, but to answer your question, no, it shouldn’t have been in the water if, if what happened, happened,” he said when asked why the tour continued in such rough conditions.

Pattison said the duck boat had life jackets onboard but Missouri law doesn’t require people to wear them.

“Usually the lake is very placid, and it’s not a long tour,” Pattison said. “They go in and kind of around an island and back, and we had other boats in the water earlier, and it had been a very sort of calm experience up until this came very suddenly.”

Charlie Riedel/AP