Conveyor belt system the suspect in fatal Dreamworld ride

THE union representing Dreamworld staff says it raised grave concerns about safety at the park, but its owner fought efforts to obtain information.

The front of the Thunder River Rapids ride where four people were killed on Tuesday afternoon.

THE union representing Dreamworld staff says it raised grave concerns about safety at the park 18 months ago, but its owner fought efforts to obtain information.

Brother and sister Luke Dorsett, 35, and Kate Goodchild, 32, and Mr Dorsett’s partner Roozi Araghi, all from Canberra, and another woman died when their raft flipped on the Thunder River Rapids ride on Tuesday afternoon.

The Australian Workers Union says it went to Dreamworld’s owner, Ardent, and to the state regulator to express grave concerns, including about the safety and operation of equipment.

Queensland Secretary Ben Swan said the union even put in a right-to-information request with the division of Workplace Health and Safety, but Ardent opposed it.

Mr Swan said the union took its concerns about general safety directly to Ardent as far back as April 2015.

“We have had concerns about maintenance and operations regimes,” Mr Swan told ABC radio on Wednesday, declining to provide details.

“I can’t speak to the particular ride in question. What I can say is it is now a matter of public record because we put a right to information request into the Commission of Workplace Health and Safety that we have concerns.

“We’ve expressed those concerns directly to the company. I don’t want to inflame the situation because I think people’s priority should rightly be on taking care of the situation that immediately exists but we did hold some very grave concerns about safety of equipment and the operation of equipment at that site.”

Dreamworld visitors said there had been problems on the ride that killed four people earlier in the day and engineers were called in, according to reports.

“We were waiting there for about half an hour and engineers had to come,” a woman told Nine News 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.”

When asked at a press conference if there had been incidents on the ride earlier in the day, a police spokesman said: “I’m not aware, but that will be part of the investigation and that will be one of the aspects we will be looking at.”

Park visitors expressed concerns about ageing equipment and operational issues, with some claiming seatbelts had come undone on rides.

Dreamworld describes the three-decade-old Thunder River Rapids at the centre of the tragedy as a ride down a “foamy water track” at up to 45km/h.

Police confirmed four people died on the ride at the Gold Coast’s biggest theme park about 2.10pm Queensland time on Tuesday.

Gavin Fuller of Queensland Ambulance said two of the victims were “ejected” after a “malfunction” on the ride, while two others were caught inside.

The cause of the accident remains unknown and Dreamworld Management said they are “deeply shocked and saddened” by the deaths.

Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapid Ride.

How riders held on for the ride. Picture: YouTube

Police at the scene of the accident. Picture: David Clark

There were reports last night that the ride was supposed to be closed for maintenance yesterday, after a Twitter user shared a screenshot from the park’s web page that said: “This ride will be closed for maintenance from Tuesday 25 October through to Monday 31 October 2016 inclusive.”

But a spokesman for Dreamworld said the message was automatically put up after the accident. The page now states that the park will be “closed until further notice.”

One of Dreamworld’s most popular rides, Thunder River Rapids opened in 1986 and is situated in the “Town of Gold Rush” portion of the park that attracts visitors from across Australia.

The shock deaths on Tuesday are not the first major incident to occur on a Dreamworld ride this year. In April, the neighbouring Log Ride was closed indefinitely after a man fell and nearly drowned.

It was given the all clear by Worksafe Queensland inspectors and reopened two days later.

This message now appears on Dreamworld’s website.

‘ALL RIDES ARE OUT OF DATE’

Fans of the park have taken to social media to vent fears about ageing equipment and operational issues.

Facebook user Tasneem Seedat gave the popular park a two star review on Monday, saying rides are “out of date and are not as smooth as they should be.”

“I injured myself on the way down from the giant drop because of your old school repairs and upgrades. Wipe-out and a few others need replacing. It just needs a general update all together. All rides are out of date,” she wrote.

“Another major concern is that for all of your rides there is only 1 or at max 2 people operating it and checking harnesses.”

Queensland woman Tracey Christensen reported one of the rides kept operating despite a belt buckle securing her children coming undone.

“I told the attendants they didn’t listen. I went and told the manager, and he said he will call someone to go have a look, yet they continued to let people on the ride and keep operating,” she said.

Others were undeterred and said it was a simply a tragic event. Anthony Street wrote it was down to people being in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”

“They will still have my support as it’s my favourite place to go to and can never be sad when I’m there I’m always happy. RIP to the ones who died as well let’s hope it’s up and running soon,” he said.

Concerning YouTube footage of the ride from two years ago shows one of the velcro seatbelts holding a girl in come undone.

Queensland Emergency personnel work at the site where four people died on Tuesday afternoon. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

A neighbouring Log Ride had issues with a conveyor belt earlier in the year. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

‘MODERATE THRILL’

On the theme park’s website, Dreamworld encourages thrill seekers stating, “all aboard for white water rafting!” The park boasts of “turbulent rapids” through “Gold Rush country”.

Listed as a “moderate thrill” with a maximum of six riders, children only have to be more than two years old to board the ride but under fours must be accompanied by an adult.

Circular rafts of six seats are used on the ride which spin and tumble along a white water course of raging rapids. People are strapped in not by the usual heavy harness but by loose straps around the waist, potentially so riders can escape if the cars flip in the water.

Theme park review website Parkz classes Thunder River Rapids as “good” with a rating of 72 out of 100. But it is listed as relatively modest when it comes to “intensity”.

In the past, riders could reportedly board and dismount the boats while they were still moving but this was halted due to safety concerns.

Dreamworld’s owner Ardent Leisure confirmed there were four deaths and said the park will be closed tomorrow as a mark of respect for the families.