Dreamworld witnesses tell of horror after four die on Thunder River Rapids ride

WITNESSES to a horror four-person fatality at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast have told how people fled the theme park crying.

People poured out of the park after the tragedy occurred.

• Dreamworld deaths: Four dead in ride tragedy
• Premier: ‘A horrific, horrific scene’
• Conveyor belt system shut down other rides
• Fatal ride closed earlier in the day

WITNESSES to a horror incident on a ride at Dreamworld have described how people fled the theme park crying as the ride flipped.

Four adults, two men and two women aged between 32 and their early 40s, died on one of the Gold Coast theme park’s most recognisable rides, the Thunder River Rapids, just after 2pm on Tuesday.

The victims have been named as Kate Goodchild, 32, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and a 42-year-old woman who remains unknown.

Kate and Luke’s mother Kim Dorsett, told The Courier Mail she is “absolutely devastated” following the accident that left her grandchildren without their mother.

“We are just devastated, absolutely devastated,” she said.

“I have three children and have lost two of them today — my whole family has been wiped out.

A witness told Sky News that she saw a little girl crying near the ride and understood one of the dead women to be her mother.

“We saw this daughter crying, we think it was her mum that was involved in the accident, but not 100 per cent sure,” the woman said.

“There was just police and lifeguards everywhere.

“I spoke to a guy and he said he looked behind and the whole thing flipped over.”

Three people have died following an incident involving a ride at @Dreamworld_AU Update: https://t.co/rC5aCGeYhC https://t.co/Bv4JBMYs3X

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 25, 2016

The woman told the broadcaster that there was believed to be up to six people on the floating raft when it flipped.

The rafts operate on a water-based conveyor belt and was nearing the end of its circuit when the tragedy occurred.

“We just saw people hysterically crying and running around,” the woman said.

“We’re not 100 per cent sure what happened.

“Maybe one or two people didn’t get off or something and yeah, one of the daughters said it was her family.”

Another woman told Sky News that it was believed there were six members of the same family on the raft.

“They were walking out and they heard the mother, the father, and the uncle all got seriously injured, possibly even died, and the daughter was the only one that survived,” she said.

Park goers poured out of the Dreamworld front gates after the incident. Photo: Regi Varghese

Speaking to the Gold Coast Bulletin, witness Lia Capes said people waiting in line to board the ride fled in tears after watching the horror incident unfold.

“The kids and people in there were screaming,” she said.

“It all happened so quickly ... There were heaps of people crying, it all happened so fast.”

Visitors said there had been problems on the ride earlier in the day and engineers were called in, the Nine Network reported.

Police declined to comment on any earlier malfunction at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“We were waiting there for about half an hour and engineers had to come,” a woman told the broadcaster of the earlier incident.

“They drained all the water out and then had to refill it back up, and then we were allowed to go.

“But, yeah, we were stuck there for about 30-40 minutes at least.”

Park is closed. Patrons still evacuating. Told if they saw anything to let Dreamworld staff know @9NewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/52hRZtM287

— Brittney Kleyn (@brittneykleyn_9) October 25, 2016

Police escort two men from Dreamworld where three people died this afternoon. @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/8nppo4EiYk

— Tom Forbes (@tomforbesGC) October 25, 2016

Shocked Dreamworld visitors are streaming out of the theme park after ride incident. @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/jAg87oPqxy

— Tom Forbes (@tomforbesGC) October 25, 2016

Witnesses Lia Capes and Clare Wooley (cap) were queuing for the ride when the tragedy unfolded. Picture: Nigel Hallett Story Jeremy Pierce

Ms Capes told ABC Gold Coast that Dreamworld staff quickly evacuated the area and the park was shut down.

“The little girl that was crying, they asked us to take her because we distracted her, she was bawling her eyes out,” Ms Capes told the ABC.

“[Then] people that worked here took her and her little sister away.”

Other witnesses, who declined to be named said it was an horrific incident.

“My sister and niece were on the ride, they are so traumatised, there is a woman hanging by her foot, crushed from the ride,” one person told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

A man who witnessed the incident told the newspaper the raft flipped at the end of its circuit.

The man, who also declined to be named, said a girl was pulled from the ride just before it flipped.

Park visitors poured out of Dreamworld’s front gates after the park was closed about 3.30pm.

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