9 family members among 17 killed in US boat tragedy
Washington, July 21 : Nine of the 17 people who died when a tour boat sank in a Missouri lake in the US on Thursday were from the same family, according to the state's governor.
Governor Michael Parson said that he spoke to the woman who has also accused the boat's captain for putting the lives of the passengers in danger by suggesting "not to put on life jackets", the BBC reported.
The sightseeing "duck boat" is a modification of a World War II design vessel meant to deliver people and materials ashore where no port facilities existed.
On Thursday the duck boat on the popular Table Rock Lake was carrying 31 people when it overturned. Missouri Highway Patrol said the ages of the deceased range from one to 70.
A Fox59 News quoted Tia Coleman who said she lost all her children, her husband, parents-in-law, an uncle, her sister-in-law and her nephew.
"The captain told us 'Don't worry about grabbing the life jackets, you won't need them,' so nobody grabbed them because we listened to the captain and he told us to stay seated," the BBC quoted Coleman as saying.
She said by the time the riders tried to grab the life jackets it was too late. "I believe that a lot of people could have been spared."
The captain was among those who survived. He is now in a hospital. The vessel began taking on water shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday. Video footage shot by a witness on shore showed two duck boats struggling through choppy waters and spray, the BBC reported.
One of the boats made it to shore but the other was driven back by the wind and eventually overwhelmed.
Missouri law requires all children under the age of seven to wear life jackets on boats, unless they are in the "cabin area", the BBC said. The vessel sank in 40ft of water before plunging to a final depth of 80ft.
Sheriff Doug Rader said divers have located the sunken boat and would try to recover it.
Jim Pattison Jr, the tour boat company owner, said the storm appeared to have taken people in the area by surprise. The boat, he told the US media, "shouldn't have been in the water".
"Usually the lake is very placid and it's not a long tour, they go in and kind of around an island and back.
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Eight dead in fire at factory in Maharashtra's Solapur district
Mumbai, May 18 (PTI): Eight persons, including three women and a child, were killed in a massive fire at a factory in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Sunday, officials said.
Prima facie, a short in the circuit triggered the blaze around 3:45 am at Central Textile Mills situated on the Akkalkot Road in Solapur MIDC, around 400 km from Mumbai.
The deceased individuals include the factory owner, identified as Haji Usman Hasanbhai Mansuri, three members of his family including his one-and-a-half-year old grandson, and four workers.
An official said the deceased individuals included three women.
Due to the intensity of the blaze, it took five to six hours for Fire Brigade personnel to control the raging flames.
Fire fighting operations are underway at the spot, he added.
Maharashtra: A major fire broke out at Central Industries in Solapur's Akkalkot Road MIDC area around 3 AM. A 6-month-old baby is feared trapped. Three critically injured people were rescued, while 5–6 others remain stuck. Rescue efforts continue. pic.twitter.com/Fx4nI5LZQe
— IANS (@ians_india) May 18, 2025
