Dallas family vacationing in Missouri when boat capsized

A Dallas family vacationing in Branson, Missouri, was on another duck boat on the lake at the same time another boat capsized, killing several people.

The tourist boat capsized and sank in as Thursday’s storms hit the popular lake. In total, 17 people died, including 9 members of the same family. Only 14 people survived.

The Lemus family is still shaken by the whole experience. They're devastated about other sightseers being killed during the storm while they made it back safely. They were there for a church convention when they decided to take a duck boat tour on Table Rock Lake. Ten minutes into the ride, the weather changed.

Paul Lemus says he thought it would be fun to take his wife and their five kids on a duck boat ride. The fast-moving thunderstorm that sunk the doomed duck boat that was within eyesight of theirs changed all that.

“When we first went into the water, it was calm,” he recalled. “To one side, you still had sunny skies and very little to no wind.”

Like the other boat, they were a few minutes into their ride when high winds and three-foot waves started pounding the enclosed vessel.

“We went from having good family fun out on the water to immediately now being in a life and death situation,” Lemus said. “Nobody in our boat was panicking. Personally, I just thought it was little bit of wind and rain. We’ll be okay. It never crossed my mind that we were in any kind of danger.”

But cell phone video recorded from a passenger on a nearby showboat captured Lemus' duck boat struggling along with another one a short distance away. Both were desperately trying to make it back to shore.

“We knew there was another boat out there with us, and we could see it. But within a minute or two, we lost visual of it,” Lemus recalled. “Everyone in our boat kept asking the captain if he knew if the other boat made it out. He didn’t know.”

That's because the captain was focused on getting his passengers safely back to shore, and he did. Hours later, they learned the other duck boat didn't.

“I can’t process it enough to think half of the people if not more died yesterday,” Lemus said. “I mean they were out there just feet from us enjoying the day with their families. And here were are a day later you and me talking and they’re no longer with us.”

Lemus says at no time did the captain tell the passengers to put their life jackets on, but he says they never felt like they were in danger of sinking.

The family plans to pray for the victims at their church service. They return to Dallas this weekend.

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