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Four killed on theme park ride in Australia


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This is so tragic! I don't know Roozbeh, but someone on my FB does. He was a huge Madonna fan. I can't imagine the horror they must have experienced. So very sad.

We were at that theme park, on that ride, when in Brisbane for the Rebel Heart tour. You never imagine that something like this can happen...not on the rapids ride :sad:

I was a ride operator at a theme park when at Uni...no amount of training prepares you for something like this. I didn't even have a first aid certificate. They must be traumatised beyond belief.

 

Dreamworld rapids ride: 'Miracle' that girls survived Queensland's worst theme park tragedy, police say

Updated 

Police say it is a miracle that two children survived Queensland's worst theme park tragedy, which killed four people, when a ride malfunctioned at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Key points:

  • Four people die when their raft flips at Dreamworld
  • Two girls, aged 10 and 13, survive
  • Police will use CCTV footage of accident to analyse how malfunction happened

 

Kate Goodchild, as well as partners Luke Dorsett and Roozbeh Argahi, who the ABC understands were on a holiday from Canberra, were killed when the 30-year-old ride malfunctioned.

A 42-year-old woman, who is yet to be identified, also died.

 

Authorities said two rafts on the Thunder River Rapids hit one another at the end of the ride, tipping one backwards.

Two people were flung from the raft and two became trapped on the conveyor belt of the ride, which is marketed as a family-friendly thrill that two-year-olds are allowed on.

Two girls, aged 10 and 13, were on the same raft, but managed to escape the disaster, Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said.

"In terms of how they escaped, maybe through the providence of God or somebody," he said.

"It is almost a miracle that anybody came out of that.

"Coming to a place where families want to come and enjoy each other's company and just have fun doesn't really equate to such a tragedy as we've seen."

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VIDEO: Police remove raft on which four people were killed at Dreamworld (ABC News)

 

Rafts taken away for forensic examination

The ride will remain a crime scene for two or three days, and Assistant Commissioner Codd said police would not rush how long the investigation takes before the theme park can re-open.

An engineering examination is underway today, and rafts have been taken away by the forensic team.

Media player: "Space" to play, "M" to mute, "left" and "right" to seek.

 
 
 
VIDEO: Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says "it's a very sad day for our city" (ABC News)

 

The Australian Workers Union had already last year raised serious concerns about operation and maintenance of some equipment at the park, but those complaints were not over the Thunder River Rapid ride.

The incident was captured on CCTV footage.

Mr Codd, who has seen the footage, said through an "apparent misoperation or some catastrophe", four people have lost their lives.

"There will be a broad range of things examined — policies, procedures, maintenance schedules and the actual, I guess, the make-up of the whole ride itself in terms of compliance about contemporary engineering," he said.

"We owe it to the deceased and their families, we owe it to the community, to get to the bottom of what caused this.

"To hold accountable any person that needs to be held account."

Dozens of detectives are currently at the scene.

Safety concerns held over other Dreamworld rides

An Australian Workers Union (AWU) official said it had held serious concerns about the operation and maintenance of some equipment last year.

What we know about the ride:

  • Thunder River Rapids has been operating since 1986
  • Dreamworld describes it as a "moderate thrill"
  • Up to six people travel in circular rafts on large rubber tyres in rapid-flowing water
  • Park rules specify riders must be at least 120cm tall
  • It is regarded as a family-friendly ride

 

AWU Queensland secretary Ben Swan said he did not want to inflame the current situation and the union's concerns did not involve the same ride.

"We did hold some very grave concerns about safety of equipment and the operation of equipment," he said.

The union had lodged an initial complaint about safety 18 months ago with park owner Ardent Leisure after a separate industrial incident.

They made an application under right to information laws seeking the release of particular information from the division of Workplace Health and Safety, but that was opposed, Mr Swan said.

"I don't want to inflame the situation," he said.

"However we do think that in the interests of workers at that facility, but also to the patrons of that facility, people who visit it for an enjoyable experience, that it is important there is a full inquiry."

Thirty detectives at the scene

 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was the worst theme park tragedy Queensland had seen.

"That is why this investigation needs to be thorough," she said.

"The focus for the police today will be on the actual rides and the policies and procedures.

"The scene was horrific."

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said it was a dreadful accident at one of the Coast's most popular attractions.

He would not be drawn on whether the ride should be closed.

"Normally their maintenance schedule is world class and this is one of those freak accidents," he said.

"When that's handed down we want to know exactly what's happened so that none of this will be repeated again."

A coronial investigation was underway and counselling offered to those who witnessed the incident.

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Its been on our news all day and heart wrenching. You know I dont even think we have seat belts on our versions, not unless its changed in the last couple of years. They always seem so harmless, Such a shame. 

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