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Duck boat tragedy: These are the nine Indianapolis family members who died

The nine victims represented three generations of the Coleman family.
Credit: Ingrid Coleman Douglas
Nine members of the Coleman family from Indianapolis, Indiana, were killed Thursday in the duck boat accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.

It was supposed to be a joyful family vacation.

An Indianapolis grandmother, spending time with her children and grandchildren.

And it ended in tragedy.

A sudden storm blew across Table Rock Lake in the tourist hotspot of Branson, Missouri, Thursday night. It capsized a Duck Tour amphibious boat and killed 17 people on the land-water craft.

Nine of those victims represented three generations of a loving Indianapolis-area family.

Credit: Ingrid Coleman Douglas
Nine members of the Coleman family from Indianapolis, Indiana, were killed Thursday in the duck boat accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.

The deaths and identities of the family members — including four children under the age of 10 — were confirmed by IndyStar via family members Friday evening.

"They were very loved," said Ingrid Coleman Douglas in a telephone interview.

The victims included her two uncles, aunt, cousins and their children. "It’s a huge family on all sides. It’s unimaginable. I would never have thought I would have lost this number of people this way."

Coleman Douglas said the victims included her uncles Horace "Butch" Coleman and Irving Raymond Coleman; Horace Coleman's wife, Belinda Coleman; her cousins, Angela Coleman and Glenn Coleman; Angela's 2-year-old son Maxwell; Glenn's two sons Evan and Reece; and his 1-year-old daughter, Arya.

Glenn's wife, Tia Coleman, and Angela's older son, whose name has not been released, survived the accident, Coleman Douglas said.

"They were on vacation," Ingrid said in the phone interview. "This is something they liked to do as a family."

Weather is believed to have caused the Ride the Ducks boat to capsize.

The storm hit the lake with 80 mph winds that caused waves 5 feet high, Capt. Jim Pulley, owner of Sea Tow Table Rock Lake said in the Springfield News-Leader.

It is believed the boat sunk in 40 feet of water, rolled down in the lake and landed on its wheels in 80-feet-deep lake water.

There were life jackets on board the boat, but it's unclear whether they were used, officials said.

Coleman Douglas said the family still had limited information as to what happened but they were hoping to make arrangements to bring family members home as soon as possible.

"We may need assistance getting them back here," she said. "We have to bring nine bodies, four babies, home."

There are already several community fundraisers and GoFundMe pages created to help victims of the duck boat tragedy, but Ingrid Coleman said her family had not yet decided what they ultimately might need.

Another family member described the Coleman clan as "close-knit" and "loving."

"All of our hearts just hurt," said Kyrie Rose in a phone interview Friday night. Both Rose and Ingrid Coleman shared a recent photo of the family, which includes all the victims except 1-year-old Arya.

Rose, who preferred not to provide details about her relationship to the victims, said the two survivors — Tia Coleman and Angela's son — are doing well, and that one had been released from the hospital.

“They are doing what would be expected and still grappling with all the facts and parameters,” Rose said.

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