One of the cable news nets had cell phone footage shot from the other Duck boat, which was also on the lake at the time, and somehow made it to shore. During the sequence, the cell phone pans (briefly) to a nearby dock where the large, paddle-wheel steamboat was waiting to take other passengers on the lake. The Captain of the steamboat kept his vessel at the dock until the storm passed. Hard to believe the Duck operators weren’t aware of the approaching storm and didn’t direct their drivers to return to the dock.
The company that operates the Duck boats better lawyer up fast. They will be paying millions in damages to the families of the victims. Vessels of that type don’t do well in rough water; read any account of the “swimming” Sherman tanks that were supposed to go ashore with our forces on D-Day; most foundered and sank long before they reached the beach.
The Branson Belle is a very large excursion boat with onboard dinner and entertainment while cruising the lake, and owned by a different company.
It does appear they were docked and watching in horror as this unfolded.
I think some people literally jumped off the boat to help people in the water.
Actually, the DUKW before it was accepted into military service was used to rescue stranded sailors off Provincetown on 1 Dec 1942. Four days later they were used in a demonstration exercise in 10ft surf to ferry troops and equipment from ship to shore.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/odd-dukw-66979423/