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SYDNEY (AP) — Four people were killed Tuesday after a river rapids ride malfunctioned at a popular theme park on Australia’s east coast, officials said.

Two men and two women died while on the ride at Dreamworld, a park on Queensland state’s Gold Coast, Queensland police officer Tod Reid told reporters.

The Thunder River Rapids ride whisks people in circular rafts along a fast-moving, man-made river. A malfunction caused two people to be ejected from their raft, while two others were caught inside the ride, said Gavin Fuller, an officer with the Queensland Ambulance Service. He did not know whether the two victims who were caught in the ride were trapped under water, or caught up in the machinery.

Park staffers administered first aid to the victims, but their injuries proved fatal, Fuller told reporters.

The victims were in their 30s and early 40s, he said.

Reid said he was not aware of any previous problems with the ride. Police were interviewing witnesses and reviewing closed-circuit television footage of the incident while crews worked to remove the bodies from the scene on Tuesday night, he said.

“It is a complex retrieval involving heavy equipment and that will take several hours,” Reid said.

Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson said the park was working with police to try and determine what went wrong.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this, and our hearts and our thoughts go out to the families involved and to their loved ones,” Davidson told reporters.

The park was closed following the accident and was expected to remain closed on Wednesday.

A witness, Lia Capes, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that she was just about to go on the ride when she saw people running out, crying.

“I was speaking to one of the guys and he said it was the raft or the boat thing in front of him, the whole thing flipped and everyone was screaming,” Capes said.

Thunder River is considered one of Dreamworld’s tamer, family-friendly rides, and is open to children as young as 2. The park, which has been open since 1981, also features several roller coasters and the free-fall ride “The Giant Drop,” where passengers plunge from a height of nearly 120 meters (400 feet). In April, the park’s Rocky Hollow Log Ride was temporarily shut down after a man fell from the ride.


http://wfla.com/2016/10/25/4-killed-on-river-rapids-ride-at-australian-theme-park/
 
GOLD COAST, AU – Police have confirmed four people were killed at a Dreamworld theme park in Australia after a water ride malfunctioned.

The accident happened on Tuesday as riders were on the Thunder River Rapids water ride — a ride in which patrons are sent around a course while sitting in rafts that look like six chairs on a giant inner tube.

At the end of the course, the rafts are lifted out of the water on an incline by a conveyor belt. That’s when one of the rafts up-ended and threw two men, aged 35 and 38, and two women, aged 42 and 32, out of the raft.

Initial reports say two of the victims were crushed by another raft that came up behind the one that had tipped over, while the other two were killed after falling into the ride’s machinery. Early reports say the victims were all from the same family.

The Thunder River Rapids ride has been in operation since 1986 and considered one of the tamest rides in the park (you can see just how tame in this video).

The ride just had its annual maintenance performed three days before the accident, but had reportedly broken down twice in the hours before the accident.

Detectives, a forensic crash unit, workplace health and safety officers and a coroner are continuing to investigate the accident. This is being called the worst theme park accident in Australia since the Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney that killed six children and one adult in 1979.

Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson released the following statement:

“Dreamworld confirms that at approximately 2:20 pm today, an incident occurred on the Thunder River Rapids Ride that resulted in the tragic deaths of four people. At this stage the park is closed and Dreamworld is working closely with police and emergency services and authorities to establish the facts around the incident. We are deeply shocked and saddened by this and our hearts and our thoughts go to the families involved and to their loved ones.”


This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.

Continue reading...
 
This is horrible.

A few things I picked from the TV news last night.

The ride was originally opened in 1986.

Apparently, the raft that flipped, was stuck at the point where ths conveyor picks it up. The raft behind bumped into it which caused it to flip. The flow of the water propelling them, and the conveyor helping to flip it.

Reports are that at least two children of the deceased were on the raft that crushed them.

Witness reports that the ride was stopped and drained for a malfunction earlier in the day. With people stranded for 30 -40 minutes.
 
Also being reported that some of the victims were decapitated\dismembered by the conveyor belt. Kids are gonna be scarred for life.
 
I cannot tell you how many times I've ridden that ride. I'm from the Gold Coast - going to Dreamworld was just something you did, twenty times a year.

This was my favourite ride too. Its so sedate compared to a lot of them, hence why I loved it - I'm chickenshit on the big ones.

I really, am having trouble wrapping my head around this happening. Its Australia, we have so many regulations and laws around health and safety. This isn't some dodgy traveling carnival ride - it's a permanent ride that's been available at Dreamworld since I was a very little kid.

My sincere condolences are with the families. How jarring to be in such a fun and happy place and experience so much tragedy and heartbreak.
 
Also being reported that some of the victims were decapitated\dismembered by the conveyor belt. Kids are gonna be scarred for life.

Just heard on the radio that the two kids I mentioned before were actually on the raft that flipped. It isn't clear whether they were thrown clear, or if they remained strapped in, as yet. But it is clear that they witnessed it.

I had imagined from the tarps and stuff, that there was dismemberment.

@sarahdownunder I've been on it a few times too. It was also my favourite ride there.
 
Yeah i was wondering how a ride like that could cause such injuries. I've been on numerous ones like it and they seem safe as can be.

Also didn't think those things were that heavy, not enough to crush someone to death. Hold them down/drown them sure. I suppose if it's got an unrelenting conveyer belt pulling it over someone, the force of the belt holding the raft down and pulling it fwd could do the trick though.

I wonder if this occurred with a tremendous amount of force, like it flipped violently, or if it was a slower ordeal and the people perhaps had a chance for escape but conditions outside the raft on such a ride provide little possibility for escape/survival.

I wish there was video.
 
All it takes is one unscrupulous worker either at the park or with whatever gov't agency deals with such things there.
 
Anyrhing is possible, Jack, but it rarely happens here, and when it does, it's suppressed fast. Our Big Brother is alive and well here.
Your NSA's best friend, we are.
 
I'd say there is no chance. We tend to suppress that stuff here. Unless you get a seat at the inquest?

Yep. There is absolutely no chance of that footage being made available to the public. For a number of reasons. We're heavily over governed and heavily controlled.
 
There was a similar accident in 1999 at Six Flags in Arlington, TX. I remembered it because the raft flipped, people were belted in and trapped underneath struggling to free themselves and spectators weren't allowed to help. There was a dive instructor in the crowd certified to assist in exactly such situation but she was threatened with arrest. The ride operators had been trained to alert park staff and stand down until emergency personnel arrived. Although they arrived quickly it was too late for one guest. 911 wasn't called for 5 minutes.

http://www.rideaccidents.com/1999.html#mar21
 
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Dreamworld's owner Ardent Leisure sought to block the release of 143 pages of critical information relating to ride safety and inspections earlier this year, including a report the Thunder River Rapids ride was "not fit for service".

In July, the Queensland Information Commissioner ordered Dreamworld to release critical documents that detailed years of incident reports, notes from inspections and complaints to the Australian Workers' Union (AWU).

It came after the AWU - which represents workers at the park - requested internal information about safety in order to carry out regulatory activities but was refused.

"Dreamworld broadly objected to disclosure of any documents in relation to the application," the information commissioner's July judgment reads.

One note from an October 2012 inspection found that air compressor units on rides - including the Thunder River Rapids - were deemed "not fit for service" while some needed repairs and replacement parts.

Inspector Shaun Langdon said he told Dreamworld "they were taking a risk and if I was a paying customer I wouldn't go on any rides, the condition they were in."

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11736598
 
On the You Tube video of the ride it seem as if the restraints aren't very tight on the children, the little girl's strap looks so loose that you could almost stick another kid up in there. I'm guessing this why the kids were thrown clear, they just slid out of the straps and the adults couldn't.
 
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