Dreamworld fan slams park for selling photographs after tragic deaths

A MAN has slammed Dreamworld for selling $50 items during the emergency, saying the ride’s straps were unsafe.

The entrance to the Dreamworld theme park on Gold Coast.

A MELBOURNE man who took his two-year-old daughter on the Thunder River Rapids ride an hour before a tragic accident killed four people has slammed Dreamworld for continuing to sell merchandise as an emergency unfolded at the scene.

Jesse Lovett travelled from Victoria with his young daughter and sister’s family to visit Dreamworld and entered the park around 10am on Tuesday.

He said they noticed helicopters hovering above around 2:30pm in the afternoon, but now feels “ill” that parkgoers were not notified sooner about the accident — being left to queue for other rides and pay for merchandise while others were fighting for life.

“All the Dreamworld music was on. I couldn’t even tell that anything was wrong. That’s what makes me feel a bit sick.”

“I was just wondering why they were still selling photos? I’m just concerned they were negligent.”

Mr Lovett with his daughter on his lap during the Thunder River Rapids ride. Picture: Jesse Lovett.

Jesse Lovett said he feels ‘ill’ that they were able to continue walking around the park and pay for pictures as an emergency unfolded nearby. Picture: Jesse Lovett.

Mr Lovett said after hearing reports from the crowd about the accident they were not told anything by staff and were able to stay taking photographs later sold to them on a USB for $50.

“The thing that keeps making me feel sick was that there was like big lines there. Those people waited for 30 minutes to die and it doesn’t feel right to me at all. It feels weird that I got to go home and that family didn’t.”

A spokeswoman for Dreamworld said the ride was shut down immediately after the accident and staff were quickly engaged in clearing a path for emergency services.

The company said it is “shocked and saddened” by the tragic accident and “our hearts and thoughts go out to the families involved and their loved ones.”

The park will remain closed until further notice and management is working with authorities to understand what happened on the ride.

The disaster recovery team is working at the park overnight on Tuesday. Picture: MARC ROBERTSON

However it’s not the first time concerns have been raised after the site was shutdown in April this year over an accident on a similar ride. Others have also taken to social media to vent concerns about ageing equipment and operational issues.

Eyewitnesses said they were told to wait on Tuesday while an engineer was called and the ride was drained, however police said they were unaware of earlier incidents.

Mr Lovett also said he had fears about the Thunder Rapids ride having ridden it earlier that day with his two-year-old sitting on his lap and claimed he had only a single strap for protection that was ineffective when wet.

“I was on the rapid river ride with my two-year-old an hour before those poor people passed away and was concerned a ... strap was holding my daughter on my lap and I thought she was going to fall out,” he said.

“It’s so rough and you had to hold it really tight,” he told news.com.au.

“It was my favourite ride and now with my daughter I was pretty scared to go on it.”

“All that was holding her in securely was me. The strap did nothing and easily came undone because it was wet.”

Queensland Police are examining CCTV footage of the ride for clues as to what caused it to “malfunction”.

Read the latest on the Dreamworld tragedy here.

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