BRANSON — Ripley Entertainment, the company that acquired Ride the Ducks Branson in December of 2017, released a statement Monday about the deadly accident investigation on the company website.

“We remain deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred at Ride the Ducks Branson. Our focus from the start has been on the guests, families, and employees who were affected last Thursday.

Today, we continue to focus our efforts on the families. We are offering to pay for all related medical bills and funeral expenses, return all personal items from the rescue scene, and assist with any related travel or accommodations that will help the families in their time of need. An event like this deeply touches everyone and we are also providing grief counseling to our employees who have been affected by this tragic accident.

We are fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Highway Patrol and all federal and state authorities involved in the investigation. The investigation is being managed by the NTSB. Because we are a party to the NTSB investigation, we are not allowed to comment on any aspect of it. However, our job is to cooperate and provide information to those officials and to comfort the families of those affected by this tragic event.

Thank you for your support, and we continue to ask that your thoughts and prayers be with the families during this difficult time.”

On Thursday evening, one duck boat sank during a storm killing 17 people aboard.