A New Zealand tour boat operator, similar to the one involved in a tragic accident in Missouri, says a similar accident wouldn't happen in New Zealand.
Seventeen people died when a duck boat carrying 31 people sank on Table Rock Lake in Missouri earlier this week. The final nightmarish moments were captured just before the tour boat sank.
Waves battered the boat, which quickly took on water, sinking before the eyes of horrified onlookers.
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The captain released the canopy allowing some passengers to escape, but just 14 of the 31 survived.
Survivor Tia Coleman lost nine of the 11 members of her family.
"I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't hear screams. It felt like I was out there on my own. I was yelling, I was screaming. Finally, I said Lord let me die, let me die," she said.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in place on Thursday morning, but the tour began that evening regardless.
In very different conditions, passengers boarded a duck boat in Rotorua on Saturday, setting out on Lake Okareka.
The managing director Trevor told Newshub it was "horrific" that the operators in Missouri decided to go ahead in such poor conditions.
"The whole 15 years we've been operating here, we haven't had wind gusts that big and we have cut off points as well for operating in adverse weather conditions. We'll pull the pin with wave heights more than 30cm."
He said he's confident if his vessels were to take on water passengers wouldn't become trapped.
"It's very easy for people to get out the side of the duck. We have clear roll-down sides which break away and they can pop out over the sides of the duck if there's ever any difficulties on the lake."
Kiwi duck boat operators say they're regularly audited by Maritime New Zealand as well as having an independent auditor check on safety standards.
Newshub.
