After hearing news that 17 people had died on a duck boat Thursday evening when it capsized in Branson, Missouri, the owner of Chattanooga Ducks, Alex Moyers, stressed Friday the safety precautions that the local duck boat company and tourist attraction takes to keep passengers safe.
Moyers said the Branson incident was a “terrible accident.” Investigators blamed stormy weather for the accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson, which Moyers described as an “open lake.”
“The Chattanooga Ducks are fortunate that we are in Chattanooga and on the Tennessee River, which is a very protected waterway,” Moyers said. “The duck boats in Chattanooga are never more than 50 yards from shore and never more than 100 yards from any bridge.”
A Chattanooga Ducks captain gets ready to depart from the vehicles’ spot at 503 Market St. in downtown Chattanooga Friday afternoon. Despite news that 17 people died when a duck boat capsized during bad weather in Branson, Missouri the night before, several locals and tourists to the Scenic City were ready for a Chattanooga Ducks tour Friday afternoon. (Staff photo by Allison Shirk)And the news didn’t keep locals and tourists from a day on land and water with the Chattanooga Ducks on Friday afternoon. Seating 25 passengers, the Chattanooga Ducks’ boats were full Friday.
John Hochstedt was there with his family for the tour leaving at noon. “Instantly, your mind goes to the worse-case scenario,” he said.