2 missing after barge hits duck boat

Ride the Ducks, which began operating in Philadelphia in 2003, runs 15 duck boats in the city. It launches its vessels from a ramp it built on property owned by the former Penn's Landing Corp.

Ride the Ducks is currently owned by the Herschend Family Entertainment company, which is located near Atlanta and operates Camden's Adventure Aquarium, the Dollywood theme park, as well as many water and adventure parks.

The company was founded in 1977, and operates about 90 vessels in several cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, Tenn., and Branson, Mo. It began its Philadelphia tours in 2003, using World War II-era DUKW landing craft.

According to the company's website, the vehicles used in Philadelphia are "based on the classic WWII DUKW amphibious design. Today, we build our vehicles from the ground up using the latest in marine design and safety."

It added the vehicles are "regularly inspected, tested & certified by the United States Coast Guard."

Duck boats have been involved in previous fatal accidents.

In June 2002, four people were killed in Ontario when the Lady Duck sank in the Ottawa River near Canada's Parliament.

In a 1999 accident, the Miss Majestic, sank and killed 13 passengers in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Ride the Ducks reported to the National Transportation Safety Board 11 accidents in 2006, 12 in 2007 and nine in 2008 – all of them minor, traffic-related incidents, such as fender-benders. None of the incidents happened on the water, and no injuries appear to have resulted. Figures for 2009 were not available.

The Inquirer will post more details as they become available.

Inquirer staff writers Robert Moran, Miriam Hill, David O'Reilly, Kia Gregory, Marcia Gelbart, Edward Colimore, Jan Hefler, Darran Simon, Troy Graham, Joseph A. Gambardello, and Matt Flegenheimer contributed to this article.