Dreamworld technician blames tragedy on ride operators not following procedures

A DREAMWORLD technician has laid the blame for the Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster on ride operators not following procedures, the inquest into the tragedy which killed four people has heard.

A DREAMWORLD technician has laid the blame for the Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster on ride operators not following procedures, the inquest into the tragedy which killed four people was told yesterday.

The theme park’s electrical engineering supervisor Scott Ritchie said operating procedures should have been followed the day of the incident.

“There was no risk,” Mr Ritchie said. “The pump was not the cause in my opinion of what happened there on that horrible day.”

Barrister Matthew Hickey, acting for the family of victim Cindy Low, asked: “That’s because you say there were procedures in place the operators should have followed?”

Mr Ritchie replied: “Yes, sir. That’s what I say.”

Dreamworld electrical engineering supervisor Scott Ritchie (right) after giving evidence in the inquest into the Thunder River Rapids Ride diaster.

The supervisor had previously told the inquest he had not read the operator’s procedures manual.

Mr Ritchie told the inquest he was not concerned about the pump’s malfunction posing a risk to riders after it broke down for the second time in the lead up to the disaster.

It broke down a total of six times the week of the disaster.

“I did not have concern with the pump stopping because we had procedures in place … to bring rafts home,” he said.

Mr Ritchie said the first five times the pump broke down operators were able to bring the ride home safely.

The inquest is examining what happened about 2pm on October 25, 2016, after a pump stopped working on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, causing water levels to drop and a raft to become stuck on the conveyor belt.

That raft was hit by another carrying Luke Dorsett, his sister Kate Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Roozbeh Araghi, Cindy Low and her son, Kieran, 10.

The four adults were killed. The children escaped uninjured.

A number of shocking relations were made in the Coroner’s Court of Queensland yesterday in relation to events surrounding the tragedy, including:

● A senior manager sent an email saying having to shut the Thunder River Rapids Ride for half an hour to drain water from rafts would bring on World War III;

● A complete $10,000 overhaul of the ride’s control panel, water pumps and water sensors was suggested in August 2015 but never done when safety upgrades were made in February 2016;

● The theme park was shopping around for new rafts for the ride six months before the disaster. New rafts were never purchased;

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● The south pump was running about 20 degrees hotter than the north pump in June 2016. The south pump was the one which broke down five times in October before a final caused the disaster;

* The maintenance supervisor was not concerned about the pumps breaking down on the Thunder River Rapids Ride because it was not uncommon;

* An email revealed a union representative had told Dreamworld that staff were covering up mistakes because they were scared of losing their jobs.

Mr Ritchie will continue to give evidence when the inquest continues today followed by attractions manager Andrew Fyfe.