Approximately 200 people in Branson’s tourism community attended a memorial service Sunday for those killed in Thursday’s deadly incident involving a Ride the Ducks tour boat.
According to CBS News, the service was held at the college near the site of the incident, which killed 17 people.
On Thursday a Ride the Ducks amphibious tour boat capsized and sank in Branson, Missouri, when 60 mph winds from severe thunderstorms struck the area while the boat was out on a lake.
According to the latest statement on the Ride the Ducks website, the company is now offering to pay for all medical bills and funeral expenses related to the incident, as well as to return all personal items from the rescue scene and to assist with any related travel or accommodations. The company is also providing grief counseling to its employees.
“We are fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Highway Patrol and all federal and state authorities involved in the investigation,” the company said in a written statement. “The investigation is being managed by the NTSB. Because we are a party to the NTSB investigation, we are not allowed to comment on any aspect of it. However, our job is to cooperate and provide information to those officials and to comfort the families of those affected by this tragic event.”
ABC KSAT12 reports that the Coast Guard was set to raise the sunken boat at 9 a.m. Monday morning. Divers were set to swim down to the vessel and connect it to a crane, which would lift it to the surface.
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