By Kunle SHONUGA
Tia Coleman, a Woman, who lost nine members of her family when a duck boat sank in a sudden storm in Missouri, says the captain told passengers that life jackets weren’t needed.
Tia Coleman was one of 31 people on the amphibious duck boat when it set out for a tour of Table Rock Lake near the U.S. tourist mecca of Branson.
“My husband would want me to say this he would want the world to know that on this boat we were on, the captain had told us ‘don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets.
“You won’t need them’ so nobody grabbed them as we listened to the captain as he told us to stay seated,” Coleman told Fox 59 of Indianapolis.
When it was time to grab them, “it was too late,’’ she said, adding, “I believe that a lot of people could have been spared.’’
The Indiana woman’s husband and children were among the nine members of her family who died in the incident.
“My heart is very heavy. Out of 11 of us, only two of us survived that’s me and my nephew,’’ Coleman said.
17 people ranging in age from 1 to 76 died when the boat sank in rough water whipped up by a fast-moving thunderstorm.
There were life jackets on the boat, but Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said he didn’t know whether people were wearing them.
Investigators will look into questions about the life jackets, the weather and actions of the crew, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.
