Dreamworld gave more attention to its newer attractions instead of the Thunder River Rapids ride
A DREAMWORLD ride operator has revealed the desperate husband of one of the victims was left was questioning why the ride hadn’t been stopped after the fatal accident.
THE HUSBAND of one of the Dreamworld tragedy victims yelled “why didn’t you stop the ride” in the aftermath of the incident, an inquest has heard.
David Turner was at the park on October 25, 2016 when a raft carrying his wife Kate Goodchild and five others collided with another on the Thunder River Rapids Ride at the Gold Coast theme park.
Ms Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner Roozi Araghi and another woman, Cindy Low, were all killed.
On Tuesday, an inquest heard evidence from attractions supervisor Sarah Cotter that she witnessed Mr Turner yelling at staff following the tragedy.
Ms Cottar, an experienced operator of the 30-year-old ride, said she believed the ride operator on duty had failed to shut down the conveyor in time to avoid the tragedy.
“There was a raft on an angle — for it to be in that position the conveyor must still have been running through all that time,” she said.
“I don’t think it was ever stopped, or (it was) just jammed stopped.”
She also said that in her opinion an alarm button that would alert park staff to an emergency had not been pushed during the tragedy as it should have been.
Earlier, Ms Cotter said she trusted the word of her colleagues that the ride was still safe to operate shortly before it malfunctioned.
She said she had told engineers a pump malfunction was “ridiculous” after it happened for a second time in about an hour on October 25, 2016, the day the four people died.
Engineers assured her the problem was fixed but the ride would be shut down for the day if the malfunction happened again and she gave the all-clear for it to resume.
About an hour later, the ride’s south water pump malfunctioned for a third time, leading to the fatal collision.
“I was happy and had the trust in my colleagues that they knew what they were doing,” Ms Cotter told the inquest.
Ms Cottar did not contact the engineering supervisor about the issue after being assured by engineers they would do so.
Yesterday, the inquest heard Dreamworld placed priority on newer attractions ahead of older rides such as the Thunder River Rapids Ride.
Former safety manager Mark Thompson agreed “familiarity had bred contempt” when it came to managing and maintaining the 30-year-old ride.
The inquest at a Queensland Coroners Court on the Gold Coast heard newer facilities such as a LEGO shop and the redesign of the Tiger Island attraction were placed before the older attractions.
“New attractions were given a greater priority than the tried and true ones?” barrister Matthew Hickey, representing Ms Low’s family, asked Mr Thompson. “Yes,” he replied.
The inquest was also shown a policy review from June 2015 where a paragraph about an alarm sounding when the water pumps stopped had been crossed out.
“If the pump stops for this ride then there is the potential for rafts to become a hazard to guests riding them,” the crossed-out section read.
“The rafts are very heavy and there are a lot of underwater obstacles that could cause the rafts to flip or entrap a guest.”
The policy was altered to say an alarm would only sound if there was a “potential risk to any guest or staff member in the ride area”.
The inquest also heard on Monday that park executives halted funding for maintenance and repairs in March 2016 due to falling profits.
Mr Thompson, who began his employment at the park in the same month, told the inquest a junior engineer had begun the process of auditing all 35 rides at Dreamworld and sister park WhiteWater World.
He said it had taken the engineer about two months to complete one ride and an audit on all rides could take up to five years.
The inquest will continue on Tuesday with more staff expected to give evidence.
— AAP
Major blow in Lehrmann’s rape case
Lawyers for former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann have suffered a major court blow after a judge threw out their application over a key piece of evidence.
Bombshell update after fatal chopper crash
A bombshell update has emerged following a damning report into an army helicopter crash which claimed the lives of four soldiers in 2023.
Brutal update for alleged lawnmower killer
An update in the case against an air force pilot charged with killing his wife and allegedly making it look like a ride-on mower “accident” has emerged.