An amphibious vehicle capsized on a lake in Missouri on Thursday, killing eight of its 31 passengers and crew.
The Southern Stone County Fire Protection District has labelled the tragedy, which took place on a Ride The Ducks boat, a ‘mass casualty’.
Emergency Services were called to the scene about 7pm after severe thunderstorms quickly rolled through the area, KY3 reported.
Several more people were taken to hospital following the incident on the ‘Ride the Ducks’ amphibious vehicle on Table Rock Lake, Stone County, near Branson, Missouri.
‘Seven patients [are in] the hospital and we do have some people still missing. So this is going to be an all night, into tomorrow [search],’ Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters about 9.30pm.
At least eight people are dead and some still missing after a duck boat capsized in a lake in Missouri on Thursday night
A severe thunderstorm that rolled over the area, causing winds of up to 60mph, is believed to have caused the tragic accident (pictured: divers are on scene looking for more bodies and living passengers)
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader told reporters about 9.30pm that divers would be searching for missing passengers ‘all night, into tomorrow’
While the identities of those killed have not yet been released, Rader confirmed there were children on board at the time.
He added he believed all those who died did so by drowning.
Brandei Clifton, public information officer at Cox Health in Branson, told KY3 that of the six people she knew of being treated at the hospital, all had minor injuries. Three of them are adults and three are under 18.
An update issued about 11.30pm from Cox Health says they were treating seven patients, two of who were in a critical condition.
Rader said divers were on the scene searching for passengers, but could not confirm how many were missing.
He said he believed the severe weather caused the boat to capsize.
National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Linderberg said a top wind speed of 63 mph was measured around 7 pm on Thursday at Branson Airport.
The winds were likely stronger over the lake, he said, adding: ‘There’s nothing to slow down winds in an open area’.
Shocking video taken from the scene shows the boat being lashed by massive waves and tilting side to side before it eventually begins to sink into the lake.
Before the video cuts out, the boat appears to be submerged up to the windows and about to turn on its side.
Ride The Ducks, a company in Branson, Missouri, that operates amphibious duck vehicles in the area, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Duck amphibious vehicles have been involved in a number fatal accidents around the world in the past two decades, with some sinking or being swamped or others colliding with vehicles.
Anyone who is missing a family member from the capsized duck boat is asked to go to Branson City Hall.
The boat belonged to local company Ride the Ducks, which run tours of the area on both land and water
Seven people have been taken to hospital for treatment. Nobody on the boat has been identified yet, but children were on board when the amphibious vehicle went down, and at least three people under the age of 18 are currently receiving treatment in hospital
Pictured: An aerial view of Table Rock lake, where the duck boat capsized