Australia - 4 people dead on Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids ride, Gold Coast, 2016

[sweetcaro]

This is awful! Their raft flipped and 4 adults drowned.

Four adults have died in an accident on a family ride at the Gold Coast's Dreamworld theme park, police have confirmed.

"Police were called to the site at Coomera around 2.20pm following reports that a number of people had been injured by a conveyor belt," the police statement read.

"Four adults have been confirmed as being deceased

Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...-dreamworld-ride-accident#w8mOCeUm7681L2oz.99

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[sweetcaro]

This happened at Dreamworld, a major theme park in Queensland. Have asked a mod to alter the thread title.

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[WoollyMummoth]

This is awful. It's a classic old family ride that I've been on stacks of times (though not recently). Thoughts with the families and witnesses. Horrific

 

[PrimeSuspect]

OMG, we used to visit that theme park every summer for years and loved that ride!! It seems it flipped and they were trapped underneath where the conveyor belt is. Was it a purely freak accident or the ride not maintained properly?
I'm really shocked and saddened for the families, no one could think a ride like that would be dangerous! Even a 2 yr old can ride with an adult. :/

 

[sweetcaro]

I too have been on this ride, more than once. I love water rides. There is a press conference live now. 2 people were ejected and two trapped. I am wondering if it happened at the top of the drop with the raft flipping forward instead of being taken down on the conveyor belt as normal? Those dead aged from 32 to early 40's.

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[CARIIS]

Six people were in the raft at the time of the accident.
- Police confirmed four adults had died in the incident.
Miche Paterson, a spokeswoman for Dreamworld, says two men and two women

many witnesses

scene was horrific.

would not confirm whether the adults were related to each other.

Paramedics said two people were thrown from the ride and two people were trapped inside.
QAS Officer Gavin Fuller said the people were aged from 32 to their early 40s.

[FONT=&quot]The 34-year-old ride[/FONT]


park staff attempted first aid


chief engineer will be looking into the mechanics of the ride

Australia's largest theme park



The incident comes about six months after a near-drowning on Dreamworld's popular log ride.
A man was on the log ride when he fell out in April.

more than 40 rides

Google images

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...a8e9a1bd97790f

Dreamworld Rollercoaster Crash - Australian theme park –



It is like a water roller coaster. Apparently on the conveyor belt upwards it flipped and people were crushed in the belt. Mixed reports but broke my heart cause I think some family members saw other family members go under- but that is confusing at this point . Kinda hope that is wrong - talk traumatic. Oye vi.

The Thunder River Rapids ride is described as one of the park’s family rides, open to children as young as two.
It’s a water-based ride and passengers sit six to a craft. It’s described as a “moderate thrill” allowing passengers to “travel down a foamy water track past the Gold Rush Country, speeding up to 45 km/h through the turbulent rapids.”

[FONT=&amp]park is closed until further notice

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]Ambulance staff were “deeply affected” by the accident and have been offered counselling.

[/FONT]

[video=youtube;5ieugJwoNVc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ieugJwoNVc[/video]


https://www.theguardian.com/austral...injured-at-australian-theme-park-live-updates

 

[Eloise]

This is a live page at time of this post.

http://www.theage.com.au/queensland...dead-at-gold-coast-theme-park-20161025-gsaarj

Horrifying that apparently a girl has witnessed her mother's fatal accident.

I think like many Australians, Dreamworld and this ride are both pretty familiar to me. This is one ride I would have felt really safe and comfortable with. It's not some kind of crazy, death defying rollercoaster.

 

[keyleigh]

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...ious-dreamworld-ride-accident/?ocid=9newsgcfb

Same family possibly. How horrific for the little ones and the first responders and witnesses. That ride is a staple of Dreamworld, if you've been you have gone on the ride.

 

[Eloise]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-25/four-people-dead-ride-at-dreamworld-gold-coast/7963880

Early investigations suggest water pushed one raft into another and one of the rafts tipped over, throwing the riders out.
"[The ride] had sustained some sort of malfunction causing two people to be ejected ... another two people were caught inside the ride," Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Gavin Fuller said.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/10/25/18/19/similar-dreamworld-conveyer-belt-ride-caused-injuries-in-april

This article makes a link between this accident and the one earlier in the year on a different but similar ride.

Yes, Dreamworld has a good safety record. But these rides are now 30~ years old. Perhaps this is the lifespan of an amusement park ride and it is time to replace them. If it turns out they have skimped on maintenance to save money, that will probably turn out to be false economy.

 

[LietKynes]

Wonder if it was due to the fact it was an older ride ? Pieces and bits do wear down after time.

I've read those parks are pretty thorough in their upkeep-- so wouldn't suspect poor maintenance at this point. Maybe some faulty parts that went unnoticed ?

Sad for the families of the deceased !!!!

 

[keyleigh]

Argh. I can't find the article, I think it was a Daily Fail but earlier guests said the ride had not been working properly yesterday.

Yes, in this article. Just be aware that this report is pretty graphic about what the kids went through.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ccident-sees-one-dead-injured-Gold-Coast.html

 

[AmyPond]

Wonder if it was due to the fact it was an older ride ? Pieces and bits do wear down after time.

I've read those parks are pretty thorough in their upkeep-- so wouldn't suspect poor maintenance at this point. Maybe some faulty parts that went unnoticed ?

Sad for the families of the deceased !!!!

I think faulty parts going unnoticed would classify as poor maintenance.

 

[Eloise]

The ride's annual maintenance, conducted by independent workplace health and safety engineers, had been done just three days before the accident, a Dreamworld spokesperson said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ne-dead-injured-Gold-Coast.html#ixzz4O9I9MuPu

So instead of not enough maintenance - maybe dodgy maintenance?
The ride had to be fixed earlier in the day.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

The same conveyer belt system used on Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids left a man severely injured on a different ride at the theme park earlier this year as it's revealed visitors had complained of dangerous conditions only a fortnight before yesterday's tragedy.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/20...-caused-injuries-in-april#IXet3rItX3F6bwjh.99

A woman in the article complained on Dreamworld's website about 5 rides that weren't operational about a week before and she warned people will be killed or injured.

 

[tlcya]

My heart goes out to the loved ones of those who died and those who were unfortunate enough to witness this.

 

[CARIIS]

Argh. I can't find the article, I think it was a Daily Fail but earlier guests said the ride had not been working properly yesterday.

Yes, in this article. Just be aware that this report is pretty graphic about what the kids went through.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ccident-sees-one-dead-injured-Gold-Coast.html

Is this like supposed to add ambiance or is it just a piece of shu#~ I truly cannot tell

 

[gregjrichards]

"The husband of one of the women who died in the Dreamworld tragedy had his phone and wallet stolen while trying to save his wife's life, it has been claimed.

Canberra mother-of-two Kate Goodchild, 32, has been named as one of the four victims of the theme park catastrophe.
Citing Ms Goodchild's uncle, the Seven Network reported her heartbroken husband's phone and wallet were stolen from their eight month old daughter's pram."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...usband-phone-wallet-stolen.html#ixzz4O9pYJPgJ

Absolutely disgusting whoever did this is a disgraceful individual. This is a terrible tragedy. I've read if anyone is criminally responsible they face up to 5 years in jail and the park may never reopen. I'm glad Australia is tough on these incidents unlike the Verruckt tragedy in the states this summer.

 

[CARIIS]

"The husband of one of the women who died in the Dreamworld tragedy had his phone and wallet stolen while trying to save his wife's life, it has been claimed.

Canberra mother-of-two Kate Goodchild, 32, has been named as one of the four victims of the theme park catastrophe.
Citing Ms Goodchild's uncle, the Seven Network reported her heartbroken husband's phone and wallet were stolen from their eight month old daughter's pram."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...usband-phone-wallet-stolen.html#ixzz4O9pYJPgJ

Absolutely disgusting whoever did this is a disgraceful individual. This is a terrible tragedy. I've read if anyone is criminally responsible they face up to 5 years in jail and the park may never reopen. I'm glad Australia is tough on these incidents unlike the Verruckt tragedy in the states this summer.

That is truly repulsive - and its not like it was a for lack of a word, "poverty" area.

7200 were injured in water rides

As I am getting caught up feeling queasy - I did not know the details yesterday really quite gruesome

http://abc7ny.com/news/gruesome-details-revealed-in-boys-water-slide-death/1461927/

 

[CARIIS]

Water slide accidents

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8aF6u96LOY#t=455.172502

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Is this like supposed to add ambiance or is it just a piece of shu#~ I truly cannot tell

It does look like a mess doesn't it but it's suppose to capture the gold mining era. Some other parts of the theme park is like the old west.