The U.S. Coast Guard has released audio transmissions of the minutes before and after a barge collided with a packed Ride the Ducks boat on the Delaware River.
It was 2:39 p.m. on July 7 when the barge The Resource overtook the disabled Duck Boat #34 in the waters just off Penn's Landing. Thirty-seven people went into the Delaware as the amphibious vehicle sank to the riverbed.
Hungarian tourists Dora Schwendtner, 16, and 20-year-old Szablcs Prem were killed in the crash.
The recordings, which were released Friday, were taken from VHF Channel 16. In one transmission made around 2:39 p.m., an unidentified ferry captain could be heard yelling for a boat to watch out.
"Hey ferry, ferry, ferry, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," the man yelled on the recordings.
Shortly after, the tugboat Freedom radioed the Coast Guard to report the crash.
"One of the duck boats just uh, looks like they got run over by a barge," the captain said. "I'm going to pick them up."
Minutes later, the captain of the Caribbean Sea radioed the Coast Guard to report their role. At first, the Coast Guard was unaware of their involvement asking whether they were in the vicinity of the accident.
"Yea, we're right here next to the ship Freedom, we are the ones that, I guess, capsized the duck boat," the man said. "We're on scene, but we do have a barge along side so there's not too, too much we can do."
The Coast Guard then advised the Caribbean Sea to throw any lifejackets into the water to survivors.
There have been many questions surrounding transmissions between the Duck Boat's crew, the Coast Guard and the Resource and its tug Caribbean Sea.
The Duck Boat's captain told NTSB investigators he radioed his position after the boat was left disabled in the water. But the Coast Guard didn't have any records of such a call.
It was later determined that the captain may have made the calls on VHF Channel 13 which is used for bridge-to-bridge communication between ships. The Coast Guard only continually monitors and records VHF Channel 16.
The recording release comes the same day as officials tested several Duck Boats in the Delaware River. Service has been suspended since the accident.
The investigation into the events leading up to the accident is ongoing. Federal officials expect to release a final report in about a year.
