Dreamworld inquest: court hears of victims' last moments

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/03/dreamworld-inquest-court-hears-of-last-moments-of-victims

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The four people killed on a ride at the Dreamworld theme park in 2016 died almost instantly, a preliminary hearing for the inquest has been told.

The malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids ride caused the deaths of Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi, and Cindy Low.

Goodchild, Dorsett, Araghi and Low were caught in the mechanism of the ride when their raft was lifted and pulled vertically into the conveyer. They were either trapped or thrown into the water.

“Each died almost instantly as a result of compressive and crushing injuries,” counsel assisting the coroner Ken Fleming QC told the Brisbane coroners court.

On Tuesday it was proposed the inquest be held in two parts. The first, which could occur in June or July, will investigate the construction, maintenance, safety, history and modifications made to the ride. It will also examine the emergency services response on the day of the incident in October and the training of Dreamworld staff.

The second part of the inquest will look at laws around theme park operations and whether changes need to be made and further safety measures introduced.

The court heard the theme park visitors had boarded raft five on the ride, which had been designed for families with children and had been a key attraction at the park since December 1986.

It was meant to give groups of six people a moderate thrill as it travelled through a watercourse, in an ostensibly safer simulation of white water rafting.

Raft five’s journey was without incident until it reached the end, where it was collected by a conveyor belt. Fifteen seconds before, one of the two large pumps that kept the ride going failed and caused water levels to drop. Raft five continued along the conveyor and collided with another raft before it was lifted and pulled vertically into the conveyor mechanism.

Also aboard the raft were Goodchild’s 12-year-old daughter Ebony and Low’s 10-year-old son, who survived.

Two Dreamworld staff who were operating the ride, as well as nearby patrons, went to help and called emergency services and the park’s safety officers.

Low’s family hope the inquest will provide answers to their questions over the incident and prevent others from suffering “such enormous heartbreak”.

“Our lives were turned upside down that day by the loss of Cindy. We have spent each week and month comforting each other and learning how to live without her,” the family said in a statement.

Following the tragedy, police and safety specialists launched an investigation and are expected to give evidence when the coronial inquiry hearings begin.