(CBSNEWS) – Nine of the 17 people who died in a duck boat accident were from the same family, a spokesperson for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Friday. Another two members of the same family survived when the boat capsized on Table Rock Lake near the tourist town of Branson, the spokesperson said.
Tia Coleman told CBS Indianapolis affiliate WTTV that she and 10 family members were on board, and only she and her 13-year-old nephew survived. “My heart is very heavy … I lost all my children,” she said.
Coleman said the captain of the boat told them “don’t worry about grabbing the life jackets – you won’t need them,” so none of the family members grabbed them.
“I couldn’t hear screams, it felt like I was out there on my own,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the captain took over the boat, and the big swells of water started coming over. “A really huge wave swept over and when that wave swept over, the last thing I heard my sister-in-law say was ‘grab the baby,'” Coleman told KOLR.
Coleman said that’s when the boat started sinking, and she tried to swim.
It was a rescue boat with people throwing life jackets into the water.