These were the nine members of the Coleman family who died in the duck boat tragedy
Tia Coleman and her nephew, whose identity is yet to be revealed, were able to survive the tragedy that took the lives of their family members during a duck boat ride.
The incident took place on Thursday, July 18, 2018, at Table Rock Lake, in Missouri. A total of 17 people died that day after a particularly strong and sudden storm blew across the tourist hotspot of Branson.
According to USA Today, among the nine victims of the Coleman family were four children: Maxwell Coleman, Evan and Reece Coleman and Arya Coleman.
What started as a fun day ended up as being the worst one in Tia's life. The 50-year-old managed to survive the tragedy but described it as a particularly terrifying moment
#HEARTBREAKING: Tia Coleman and her nephew were the only survivors among 11 relatives aboard the duck boat in Missouri. https://t.co/KSa28ir06Q pic.twitter.com/97cbtgDdmE
— WSYX ABC 6 (@wsyx6) July 21, 2018
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Missouri Duck Boat Accident Kills 17, Including 9 From Same Family: The tourist boat, carrying 31 people, sank in a storm that hit with shocking ferocity, raising new concerns about the safety of duck boats. https://t.co/movVCjFdVC pic.twitter.com/a52wiavsOm
— Jobs in Delaware (@hire_delaware) July 21, 2018
While describing what it was like being aboard the water-land craft, Tia recalled feeling like she was completely alone on the boat and that she couldn't see nor hear anyone.
"I couldn’t hear screams, it felt like I was out there on my own. And I was yelling, screaming and finally, I said, ‘Lord, just let me die, let me die, I can’t keep drowning, I just can’t keep drowning.’ And then I just let go.”
Tia Coleman, KOLR10, July 20, 2018
Butch Coleman, Ray Coleman, Glenn Coleman, Angela Coleman, Reece Coleman, Belinda Coleman and Evan Coleman pictures,killed IN DUCK BOAT TRAGEDY https://t.co/I6wORhQ81i pic.twitter.com/S6KvwBqKx8
— infowe (@infowe) July 21, 2018
While Tia survived the horrifying experience, the rest of her relatives - Glenn Coleman, Horace Coleman, Angela Coleman, Belinda Coleman and Ervin Coleman - ended up perishing in the raging waters.
According to Tia, the last thing she heard was her sister-in-law, Angela, asking her to grab the baby right before the boat started to sink, and that when she managed to push her head to the top of the water, she didn't see anyone.
A @gofundme site has been set up for the Coleman family, who lost 9 members in #TableRockLake tragedy: https://t.co/4oghLrl4tx
— Tony Messenger (@tonymess) July 21, 2018
What lasted for about ten minutes seemed like a like an hour to Tia, who kept on struggling to stay afloat as the sinking boat threatened to suck her into the depths.
It has been revealed that the family wasn't even supposed to be on the boat, as they had missed the ride they bought the tickets for, which had sailed off hours earlier. So far, it isn't known how much it will cost the family to bury their loved ones, but a GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the costs.