Divers found the final four bodies on Friday in Table Rock Lake near Branson after the deadliest accident of its kind in nearly two decades. State and federal investigators were trying to determine what went sent the vessel known as a duck boat to its demise. An initial assessment blamed thunderstorms and winds that approached hurricane strength, but it wasn't clear why the amphibious vehicle even ventured out into the water. Women leave flowers on a car believed to belong to a victim of the duck boat accident. Credit:AP Officials haven't released names of the victims, but the sad details emerged throughout the day. Among them: A popular duck boat driver, a father and son visiting from Arkansas, and nine relatives from Indiana, many of them children, who were on the ill-fated boat only because of a mix-up. The risk of heavy weather was apparent hours before the boat left shore. Loading

The National Weather Service in Springfield, about 64 kilometres north of Branson, issued a severe thunderstorm watch for its immediate area Thursday, saying conditions were ripe for winds of 112 kph. It followed up at 6.32pm with a severe thunderstorm warning for three counties that included Branson and the lake. The warning mentioned both locations. The boat went down about 40 minutes later, shortly after 7pm. "When we issue a warning, it means take action," meteorologist Kelsey Angle said. A full investigation was underway, with help from the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader urged anyone with video or photos of the accident to contact authorities. Loading The agencies were briefing Missouri's two senators on the accident. Democrat Claire McCaskill said she would look into possible "legislative solutions," while Republican Roy Blunt called it a "tragedy that never should have happened."

At the rally at the duck boat business, the Reverend Zachary Klein said he had no words of comfort to offer the families of victims "because there simply are no words to comfort them." Suzanne Smagala with Ripley Entertainment, which owns Ride the Ducks in Branson, said the company was assisting authorities. She said this was the company's only accident in more than 40 years of operation. Twenty-nine passengers and two crew members were aboard for a pleasure cruise. Seven of the 14 survivors were hurt when the vessel went down. At least two children and two adults were still hospitalised Friday afternoon, local time. The captain survived, authorities said. Among the injured was 14-year-old Loren Smith of Osceola, Arkansas. Her father, 53-year-old retired math teacher Steve, Smith, and her 15-year-old brother, Lance, died in the accident. Loren suffered a concussion but survived. His wife opted not go on the tour, the paper said. "It's a hard thing," Steve Smith's father, Carroll Smith, said of losing his only child and his only grandson. "It's a very difficult day."

Brayden Malaske, of Harrah, Oklahoma, boarded a replica 19th-century paddle- wheeler known as the Branson Belle on the same lake just before the storm hit. At the time, he said, the water seemed calm, and no one was worried about the weather. "But it suddenly got very dark," he recalled. In a short video taken by Malaske from the deck of the Belle, the duck boat can be seen wallowing through the choppy, wind-whipped lake, with water only inches from its windows. Dark, rolling waves crash over its front end. The footage ends before the boat capsizes. Later, people on Malaske's boat saw a duck boat passenger "hanging on for dear life" to the paddle wheel of the Belle, he said.

The mayor identified the crew member operating the boat as Bob Williams, known informally as "Captain Bob." "He was a great ambassador for Branson," Best said. "He was at every event. He knew everyone. He was always promoting Branson." A survivor from the family who lost nine relatives said the captain told passengers not to bother grabbing life jackets. American media have identified the Coleman family in this photo from a family member's Facebook page. Credit:Facebook/Fox News Tia Coleman told Indianapolis television stations that she and a nephew were the only survivors among 11 relatives aboard the boat. She said she lost all her children, but she did not say how many.

"I lost all my children, I lost my husband," Coleman told Indianapolis television channel Fox 59 from her hospital bed in Branson. "I'm OK, but this is really hard, just really hard." Coleman said the captain told passengers that they would not need life jackets. By the time of the accident, "it was too late." The 17 victims were aged between 1 and 70 and came from six US states, authorities said. An email message seeking comment from Ripley Entertainment about Coleman's comment was not immediately returned. Tracy Beck, of Kansas City, Missouri, said she recalled the family members waiting in line and blamed a possible ticket mix-up for them ending up on the ill-fated boat. She said the ticket taker realised after they stopped for a photo that they should have boarded at a different location and assigned them new tickets.

A duck boat sits idle in the parking lot of Ride the Ducks. It is similar to one of the company's boats that capsized. Credit:AP Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video Named for their ability to travel on land and in water, duck boats have been involved in other serious accidents in the past, including the deaths of more than 40 people since 1999. Five college students were killed in 2015 in Seattle when a duck boat collided with a bus. Thirteen people died in 1999 when a boat sank near Hot Springs, Arkansas. "Duck boats are death traps," said Andrew Duffy, an attorney whose Philadelphia law firm handled litigation related to two fatal duck boat accidents there. "They're not fit for water or land because they are half car and half boat."

Safety advocates have sought improvements and complained that too many agencies regulate the boats with varying safety requirements. The boats were originally designed for the military, specifically to transport troops and supplies in World War II. They were later modified for use as sightseeing vehicles. The sheriff said Thursday that two duck boats were on the water at the time of the storm. Both were headed back to land. One returned safely. The other did not. Divers quickly located the sunken vessel, which came to rest on its wheels on the lakebed. Authorities planned to recover it at some point in the next few days. The boat sank in 12 metres of water and then rolled on its wheels into a deeper area with 25 metres deep.

The Ride the Ducks tour begins in downtown Branson, where the vehicles take passengers on a tour while the captain cracks jokes and points out landmarks. Eventually, the boats pull up to the lake and slowly enter the water with a small splash. After a few minutes on the water, the vehicles return to land and to their home base, which features a store selling candy and souvenirs. Table Rock Lake, east of Branson, was created in the late 1950s when the Corps of Army Engineers built a dam across the White River to provide hydroelectric power to the Ozarks. AP