by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:46 AM ET, Fri July 20, 2018
Update: July 20, 2018 at 12:10 p.m. ET
The Stone County Sheriff's Department revealed Friday they had discovered four more bodies after a Duck Boat sank Thursday night, bringing the death toll to 17 people, according to The Associated Press.
Videos of the boat before it sank and the subsequent makeshift memorials have surfaced on Twitter:
The National Weather Service reported winds were blowing as hard as 65 miles per hour at the time of the accident. The company which operated the duck boats, Ripley Entertainment, released a statement on the deadly accident.
"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," Ripley president Jim Pattison Jr. told The AP when asked about the boats sailing in such rough conditions.
At least 13 people were killed when a tourist duck boat sailing across a lake in Missouri sank during a storm Thursday night at around 7 p.m. local time.
According to Reuters.com, police are continuing their search for missing tourists in Table Rock Lake near Branson Friday morning after the Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle sank during a storm that brought thunderstorms and high winds to the area Thursday night.
Missouri Governor Michael Parson told the media that at least 13 people had been killed, including children. He also said that seven victims survived the incident and were transported to the Cox Medical Center in Branson.
"Just a terrible, horrific tragic accident has occurred," Governor Parson said. "The rescue's still ongoing."
"There was some heavy wind. It was having problems through the wind," Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters at a news conference. "They were coming back toward land. There were actually two ducks. The first one made it out. The second one didn't."
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