Dreamworld inquest: No drills or emergency simulations in almost two years
DREAMWORLD has not introduced drills or emergency simulations in the almost two years since the tragedy on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, an inquest has heard.
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DREAMWORLD has not introduced drills or emergency simulations in the almost two years since the tragedy on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, an inquest has heard.
Ride operator Tim Williams, who has been at the park since 2013, said since the disaster the park still did not put staff through drills or simulations.
“There has been talk and plans of doing it but not as yet as far as I am aware of it,” Mr Williams told the inquest.
The 27-year-old opened the Thunder River Rapids ride the morning of the disaster.
Mr Williams also said it was common for operators not to report the first aid kit not being fully stocked.
“Across the park, it is very common that the kit is not stocked,” he told police in a statement.
“Operators have stopped reporting to supervisors about the kits on a daily basis because it does not prevent the ride from opening.”
Mr Williams said to the inquest that was often because the kits did not have the required number of items, including having eight band aids instead of 10.
CORONER WARNS LAWYERS TO STOP BEING REPETITIVE
THE coroner in charge of the Dreamworld inquest has warned lawyers to stop being repetitive in their questioning of witnesses.
The inquest, which entered it’s fourth day this morning, has so far only had four of the more than 30 witness scheduled have taken the stand.
Coroner James McDougall instructed lawyers they needed to work together to ensure questions were not being repeated throughout the inquest.
Each of the families has a legal team as well as a separate legal team for Andent Leisure, Dreamworld employees, Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson and Ardent Leisure group safety manager Angus Hutchings.
Earlier in the morning Mr McDougall blocked Mr Davidson’s barrister, Gavin Handran, from playing harrowing CCTV footage of the lead-up to the incident to ride operator Courtney Williams.
Mr McDougall said he did not see why it was necessary for the footage to be played to Ms Williams.
RIDE OPERATOR ‘NOTICED PROBLEMS’ ON MORNING OF TRAGEDY
THE ride operator who started the Thunder River Rapids Ride the morning of the Dreamworld disaster said he noticed problems with the pump on start up.
Timothy Williams has taken the stand on the fourth day of the inquest into the Dreamworld disaster.
Mr Williams was the first operator on the ride the morning of the disaster.
He told the inquest he noticed the amp metre on the south pump was giving unusual readings when he started the ride for the day.
“The north pump was normal but the south pump was sitting about 490 amps and was fluctuating,” he said in a statement.
“That is not normal based on my experience with this ride.”
Mr Williams told the inquest he called engineers to report the problem.
When an electrician arrived, the south pump amp reading had dropped back to 420 amps which was more normal levels.
Mr Williams said he was told to give the engineers a call again if there was an issue later in the day.
The ride operator was in charge of the ride when the south pump went offline that morning.
The pump was fail two time later that day — the third failure lead to the disaster.
After a pump stopped working on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, the water levels dropped and a raft got stuck on a conveyor.
It was hit by a raft carrying Ms Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Mr Dorsett, Mr Araghi, Ms Low and her son, Kieran, 10. Their raft flipped. Two adults were trapped and the other two adults fell out.
Both children remained on the raft until the conveyor stopped and escaped uninjured.
Mr Williams said it was his “understanding” there had been a “few issues” with the pump form talking to other people who operated the ride.
He said when the water levels had dropped when the pump failed for the first time on October 25, 2016 he didn’t consider it an emergency situation.
Mr Williams operated the ride throughout the morning before working on the Giant Drop after his lunch break.
FORMER RIDE OPERATOR ‘NEVER SAW A MEMO’
FORMER Dreamworld ride operator Courtney Williams said she never saw a memo which described the emergency stop button sent a week before the tragedy on the Thunder River Rapids Ride.
Ms Williams said she was not shown the memo when she was trained on the morning of the tragedy.
The same memo sent on October 18, 2016, warned employees only to press the emergency button if the ride operator at the main control panel, about 10m away, was incapacitated.
The emergency stop button could stop the conveyor within two seconds, but Ms Williams told the inquest she was never told what it did.
“I was not shown that memo. I had seen another memo in the office which I thought was that memo,” she said.
Ms Williams said she had not been taken through the operation manual by trainer Amy Crisp.
“She didn’t take me through the manual. I had to go through it myself,” she said.
Ms Williams said she did not see the memo in that part.
“Amy flipped through my part. She showed me the safety notice and then flipped to my part,” she said.
The inquest was shown a police walk-through of the incident taken two days after the disaster.
In that video she can be heard telling police: “I read through that, I read through it all, I read through the memo.”
When asked at the inquest she said she did not remember if her comments related to the October 18, 2016 memo.
Ms Williams has been visibly upset while giving her evidence this morning.
Her answers have been short and on almost every answer her voice waivers.
A separate video taken be a police officer on the day of the incident was also shown to the inquest.
In the video a Dreamworld employee with the name badge “Troy” was shown indicating to go to a quieter place where Ms Williams gave an initial statement to police.
FORMER EMPLOYEE ‘HIGHLY DISTRESSED’ AFTER GIVING EVIDENCE
THE lawyer for former Dreamworld ride operator Courtney Williams said the young woman is “highly distressed” after giving evidence at the inquest yesterday.
Ms Williams was one of two ride operators working the Thunder River Rapids ride when two rafts collided, flipping one of the rafts into a vertical position.
PARK BOSS ALLEGEDLY TOLD OPERATOR NOT TO TALK TO POLICE
The flip killed four people — Kate Goodchild, Roozbeh Araghi, Luke Dorsett and Cindy Low.
Ms Williams’ lawyer Peter Callaghan said she was “highly distressed” after giving evidence yesterday.
“Ms Williams is mortified to think she might have done anything to upset any of the (families),” he said.
Mr Callaghan urged other lawyers to keep in mind Ms Williams’ emotional condition after having to relive the horrific incident yesterday.
Steven Whybrow, the barrister for Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett’s families, again quizzed Ms Williams about the emergency stop button she was standing near on the day of the incident.
Ms Williams told the inquest yesterday she had been told “not to worry” about the button as no one used it and did not know what the button did.
Mr Whybrow asked this morning if the button had been labelled and she knew what it did if she had pressed the button.
“I would have done everything that I could have to do that,” she said.
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