After Missouri Duck Boat Tragedy, Passengers Grappling With Survivor Guilt

“I’m thinking, ‘Why me?'” said 14-year old Lauren Smith, who lost her brother and father in the sinking of the vessel.

The Missouri duck boat that left 17 people dead after sinking Thursday has been brought to the surface. 

The vessel was raised 80 feet by crane from its watery grave Monday. 

Life preservers were seen hanging from racks above the seats. 

Meanwhile, passengers who made it out alive are suffering from survivor guilt.

Lauren Smith, 14, was with her brother, 15-year-old Lance, and her father, Steve, both of whom drowned. 

“I’m thinking, ‘Why me? What do I have to live?'” Lauren told CBS News.

Her mother, Pam, and CBS News Correspondent Dana Jacobson, tried to comfort her in a heart-wrenching interview that aired over the weekend.

“You got to live to share your brother’s memory and you father’s,” Jacobson said. “You have purpose. You have a purpose, Lauren.

Pam Smith added, “You have big things ahead of you and God knows I need you.”

Her mother was not aboard the doomed duck boat. She says she spoke to her husband by phone during the vessel’s final moments.

“He said, ‘It doesn’t look good, Pam.’ And I said, ‘I love you’ and he said, ‘I love you’ and [told me] to take care of the kids. That was the last words,” she tearfully recalled. 

Psychiatrist Dr. Jodi Gold says survivors of a disaster often have feelings of guilt. 

“This is part of the process of recovering from a traumatic event,” she told Inside Edition. “I really worry for those family members that they will evolve into post-traumatic stress disorder and the best way to prevent that would be to have support and sort of process the event in their own time.” 

Incredibly, there were words of comfort for them from Tia Coleman, who lost nine members of her family, including her three children.

“To the survivors of the boat, I continue to keep you in my prayers,” Coleman said. “I know what you’re going through.”

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