Dreamworld told to prove all rides properly registered at Thunder River Rapids Ride inquest

CORONER James McDougall has demanded Dreamworld provide proof all rides were properly registered between 2011 and 2016 after more damning evidence at the Thunder River Rapids Ride inquest gave him cause for concern.

PROOF all rides at Dreamworld were properly registered between 2011 and 2016 has been demanded by Coroner James McDougall.

Mr McDougall made the demand after an extraordinary morning at the inquest into the Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster where it was revealed it is unclear if all Dreamworld rides were properly registered between 2011 and 2016.

“I want you to pay particular attention as to whether or not the rides have been inspected properly in accordance with the regulator,” Mr McDougall told lawyers.

Registration and inspection certificates have not been provided to Mr McDougall as a part of the evidence.

Emergency vehicles at Dreamworld after the fatal accident at the Thunder River Rapids Ride.

It is unclear if they had any had been completed.

Dreamworld lawyer Bruce Hodgkinson said the annual inspections had been completed online by in-house engineering staff.

The regulations state the inspections must be carried out by an external consultant.

“That’s an extraordinary statement,” Mr McDougall said.

Barrister for the Office of Industrial Relations Stephen Gray said the regulator was not aware of internal inspections being done.

READ MORE

RIDES CERTIFIED WITHOUT LOG BOOKS BEING SEEN

8 KEY POINTS FROM LAST WEEK’S EVIDENCE

ANOTHER WEEK TO BE ADDED TO INQUEST

“We are almost 14 days into this inquest and the regulator has not gone away to check the registration and inspections?” Mr McDougall asked.

He asked for the parties to go back and find the documentation about inspections and registration for the five years before the tragedy.

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.

Dreamworld

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BULLETIN AND GET A FITBIT

Earlier engineer Tom Polley, who certified the Thunder River Rapids Ride days before the disaster, told the inquest he did not have documentation of logbooks and maintenance logs when he conducted his assessment.

He said he did not press Dreamworld for them despite being a requirement for certification.

“I also thought it was very important that at some stage I stopped asking for documentation both verbally and in email form, because I was very concerned that I might get some documentation that was made up after the event,” he said.

Mr Polley said he was not making any accusations.

He was asked if his certificate alone should have been enough to register the ride.

“I don’t think it should be,” he said.

Former Dreamworld attractions and entertainment manager Andrew Fyfe has taken the stand in the inquest.