Update: The Duck boat returned to the surface at about 10:10 a.m. Two American flags were still attached near the bow, but the canopy top and the left/port side’s windows appeared to be detached.
The boat drifted toward shore, allowing reporters to see that the windshield was open and that several life jackets dangled from the roof of the duck.
Workers on the barge operated pumps to clear lake water from the duck.
Enough water was pumped out to allow the Ride the Ducks logo to rise above the waterline. The crane’s strap appeared to be hoisting the boat behind its front axle and around its midsection.
Three boats pushed the barge toward waiting officials on shore with the Duck still attached to the crane.
By this point, fewer than 90 minutes had elapsed from the time the divers submerged. The operation had been projected to take five hours or longer.
Previous: Divers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol joined a floating barge in the water at 9:24 a.m. Blue buoys marked a spot on the lake’s surface; about 80 feet below was the sunken duck.
A Coast Guard official on scene told reporters that divers would go down and rig the duck to a crane on the barge. Once the connection is stable, the duck will be lifted to the lake’s surface.
When the duck is successfully in the open air, water will be pumped off. If the duck can float, it’ll be towed to shore.
The Coast Guard is overseeing the operation but is not performing the actual salvage work. Ride the Ducks Branson submitted a salvage plan that included contracting with Fitzco, according to the Coast Guard official.
More than a dozen local and national media outlets were gathered on a rocky shore near the stern of the Showboat Branson Belle. The operation was expected to take about five hours if conditions were favorable.
Two small drones hovered near the barge and the Missouri State Highway Patrol dive boat while a news helicopter choppered away far overhead.
Closer to the surface on the beautiful Ozarks morning, a small flock of real live ducks swam cautiously nearby as the operation was set to begin.
Seventeen people died last week when the amphibious vessel swamped and sank during a thunderstorm that brought hurricane-like winds to the lake near Branson.
The crash is one of the deadliest U.S. boating tragedies in recent history and has drawn national attention to the tourist town of 10,000. The fatal sinking has also renewed focus on decades-old concerns about the safety of duck boats.
The Coast Guard will oversee the salvage efforts, which at their most basic involve divers connecting the crane to the duck boat and the crane yanking it from the lake floor. A Shell Knob company recently brought in salvage equipment, including a crane.
The wreckage will temporarily go into the custody of the National Transportation Safety Board for inspection as part of an investigation that may take a year to complete.
The NTSB has conducted interviews and has already taken possession of a video recorder from on-board the duck, which is a World War II-era craft refurbished for modern tourism. It is unclear whether the device is operable or whether its data can be obtained.
The Ride the Ducks Branson company, a subsidiary of Ripley Entertainment, has suspended operation pending the investigation. Ripley purchased the Branson duck boat operation in late 2017.
