McCaskill drafting legislation aimed at safety of duck boats after lake accident that killed 17
McCaskill, D-
The
The president spoke Tuesday at a
McCaskill predicted that federal investigations into the sinking at Table Rock could take a year or more.
"We've had 40 deaths associated with the duck boats since 1999, yet there has been little done to address the inherent dangers of these amphibious vehicles," McCaskill said in a speech on the
Prior to that, her
Both senators told personal stories of the victims.
McCaskill said that in past investigations, the
"When these vehicles are on water, the canopy serves as a trap," McCaskill said. "If they take on water ... people who are trying to get out have no easy way to escape."
McCaskill said that along with addressing design, her legislation would be aimed at requiring "the boats that are not compliant be taken out of service until they can be compliant."
Blunt said he would be closely monitoring whether federal safety overseers had learned and acted after previous accidents involving the boats.
"One of the things that certainly they'll be looking at is their investigation of a similar accident almost 20 years ago in
Any legislative response should be based on the facts that come out of the investigation, he said.
Blunt said he insisted that rescuers, including teenagers who swam to try to help the victims, be offered mental health counseling.
"If you're a 16-, 17-, 18-year-old young man, you think everything is OK," Blunt said. "But we were insistent they try to have the mental health counseling they needed, along with the families and survivors that were there."
The duck boat that sank was built in 1944, and was part of a fleet of amphibious vehicles designed for use in World War II. Its most recent inspection was completed in
"Back in the World War II days, yeah, you'd pile a bunch of people on it, but they were on there for two minutes," Paul said. "They were designed to get from ship to shore as fast as possible, not drive around town, get in the water, get back out and put people's lives at risk." Paul owns Test Drive Technologies in
The Associated Press reported that the "Stretch Duck 07" had a few apparently minor problems in recent years. It "lost steering while underway on
The most serious citation came in 2015, the AP reported, when the
Paul said he issued a written report in
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