Friends, family attend memorial service for victims of duck boat accident

About 200 people attended a memorial service Sunday afternoon in Branson for the 17 people killed in the duck boat accident last Thursday.

According to the Joplin Globe, a church bell at the College of the Ozarks chimed 17 times: once for each victim.

The college and city of Branson put on the community memorial service.

Branson mayor Karen Best spoke on behalf of the victims and the “many heroes who did everything in their power to save lives.”

“Our lives were changed forever, July 19, 2018. Tragedy struck our community in an unimaginable way and hearts were broken. We were all in shock,” she said during the service. “As family members arrived at city hall and tried to find information about their loved ones and to receive emotional support, we started putting faces with names. Those who were once strangers to us, quickly became family.”

Nine of the victims were members of the same family.