Couple missed Dreamworld disaster when they let others go ahead of them
A NEW Zealand man has told of the crucial decision to let another group ahead of them onto the ride that claimed four lives.
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A NEW Zealand man has told how he cheated death in Tuesday’s Dreamworld disaster by allowing a group to board the doomed raft ahead of him and his partner.
The 25-year-old from Christchurch and his partner were seconds away from climbing into the raft on the Thunder River Rapids ride that flipped and killed four people when they paused and let a group in front of them.
The man told Newshub they were waiting for his partner’s mother to catch up to them before they had one final ride before their bus arrived.
Kate Goodchild, her brother, Luke Dorsett, 35, his partner Roozi Araghi, 38, and Cindy Low, 42, died in what is the deadliest accident at an Australian theme park since the 1970s.
The New Zealand couple may have escaped death or injury but the experience of witnessing the horror had left them deeply traumatised.
“We saw things we wished we hadn’t,” he said.
At first they were unaware of why the ride stopped. It was only after they made the decision to climb out out they realised the desperate situation that was unfolding.
In the confusion that followed, people screamed in panic and others leapt over barriers to try and rescue those trapped under the raft.
The man said he was “counting his lucky stars” while his partner’s mother had vowed never to set foot in another theme park.
This afternoon police appealed to anyone who witnessed yesterday’s tragic events at Dreamworld, and who took images or video of the incident or its aftermath, to come forward.
Queensland Police Detective Inspector Mark Thompson told reporters on Wednesday afternoon he had no specific knowledge that anyone captured the carnage on camera but “in this day and age” it was possible someone had clues that could benefit investigators.
Mr Thompson said police especially wanted to hear from people who had been on the ride before the tragedy occurred.
He said there more than 30 detectives as well as significant numbers of scientific and forensic staff.
“Police are currently involved in an intricate investigation in order to compile a report for the Queensland coroner, and as you can imagine this is a long and detailed process.”
He refused to comment when asked about the ride and what could have caused the accident.
“It is inappropriate for me to go into details when it comes to the ride or its structure or other issue surrounding that ride itself,” he said.
He could not provide details about how long Dreamworld would remain a “crime scene” for.
“The gathering of scientific evidence will be lengthy and detailed and it would be wrong for me to speculate about it.”
Mr Thompson said reports Ms Goodchild’s husband had his wallet and phone stolen in the frantic minutes after the accident were incorrect.
The second female victim, Sydney-based Ms Low, was visiting the Gold Coast theme park with son Kieran, 10, daughter Isla, 6, and husband, Mathew, on Tuesday.
Rather than boarding the Thunder River Rapids ride together the family separated, leading the mother and son to board the doomed raft with four others.
Her family released a statement this afternoon saying they were “devastated” and “traumatised” by her death.
“Ms Low’s family was devastated by the tragic loss of partner and mother Cindy Low, who was killed in the catastrophic incident at Dreamworld. The family are traumatised, and kindly requested that their privacy be respected as they try to come to terms with this tragic loss.”
Another child, reported to have been Ms Goodchild’s 12-year-old daughter, is believed to have survived the ride along with Kieran.
The two children were ejected from the carriage, while the four adults were launched with the raft onto the ride’s conveyor belt.
Kieran is said to have watched his mother die in front of him. She was thrown onto the wooden conveyor belt when the raft flipped.
The children were both transported to Gold Coast University Hospital and have since been discharged. It has been reported the 10-year-old boy witnessed his mother’s death.
Dreamworld chief executive Craig Davidson left a wreath at the park’s entrance on Wednesday and made special mention of the children affected.
“These children will have our full support into the future.”
Mr Davidson said the accident had affected all Dreamworld staff.
“Dreamworld is absolutely committed to fully supporting the authorities investigating the incident so we can find out exactly what has occurred,” he said.
Detailing the horrific scene during a media conference at the theme park this morning, Queensland’s assistant police commissioner Brian Codd said it was “almost a miracle” that the pair had survived.
“In terms of how they escaped, maybe through the providence of God or somebody,” he said.
“It seems from what I’ve seen, almost a miracle that anybody came out of that. If we’re going to be thankful for anything, I’m thankful for that.”
PARKED CLOSED ‘INDEFINITELY’ FOR INVESTIGATION
Dozens of detectives are working to pinpoint exactly what happened to cause “apparent misoperation” of the usually family-friendly ride.
Based on viewing CCTV footage, Mr Codd provided a brief description of the incident.
“An incident has happened as the conclusion of the ride where the flumes, or device that people sit on, have come to the conclusion of the ride at the area where people would get off,” he told reporters at Dreamworld.
“Something has occurred where two of those have come together, and as a result one has flipped backwards and it was caught and tossed some of the people that were on the ride backwards into the conveyor belt.”
The fatal incident has led the theme park to close its gates indefinitely as dozens of detectives work to investigate what caused the tragedy, and support is provided to family members of victims, Dreamworld workers, and witnesses of the incident.
On Dreamworld’s website, brightly coloured promotional pictures of families enjoying the parks attractions have been replaced with a sombre message announcing its closure.
“Dreamworld is currently closed until further notice due to an incident at the park,” the site’s main page reads.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the incident; our heart and thoughts go out to the families involved and their loved ones.”
TRIBUTES FLOW AS FAMILY ‘WIPED OUT’
The devastated mother of two of the victims says her “whole family has been wiped out” after her children Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett were killed in the horror accident.
Kim Dorsett said the family was “absolutely devastated” following the freak accident, which will leave her granddaughters without a mother.
“We are just devastated, absolutely devastated,” she told the Courier-Mail.
“I have three children and have lost two of them today — my whole family has been wiped out.
“I have two granddaughters — an eight-month-old and a 12-year-old — and it truly breaks my heart to know that my eight-month-old is never going to get to know her mum.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics, where fellow victim and Mr Dorsett’s partner, Mr Araghi worked, has released a statement about the “tragic loss”.
“The ABS is devastated by the tragic loss of Roozi Araghi, one of our dedicated, professional, hardworking team members, who was very popular and well-regarded. His loss is deeply felt, and our thoughts and wishes are with his family and friends,” the statement said.
“Roozi worked in our Communications team, and was helping with the organisation-wide transformation of our statistical processes. He had the rare ability to communicate complex and technical matters in a clear and easy to understand manner, while also bringing a lot of joy and fun to the workplace.”
Mr Araghi was also at one point a contributing pop writer to LGBTI website Same Same, interviewing stars like Boy George and Jessica Mauboy, and writing regular music reviews.
Some friends have taken to Facebook to post tributes to the victims on their profiles.
“Rest in peace mate,” a friend commented on Mr Araghi’s page.
Another friend recalled his smile and sense of humour smile and sense of humour.
“Thinking of you Roozi and all the times you made me laugh, smile and corrected my grammar! You are one of a kind and I know you will bring sunshine to heaven! R.I.P. xoxox,” she wrote.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who knew Mr Araghi, said Australia was “worse for the loss”.
“I was lucky enough to have been raised with Roozi Araghi. His father helped pave the way for my family to come to Australia. I’m devastated that such a caring, loving, sweet and sensitive friend has been lost. I’m angry that this could happen at a venue like Dreamworld.”
Health Minister Sussan Ley also paid tribute on Twitter, saying there was “much sadness” in the Department of Health over the loss of the popular public servant.
I was lucky enough to have been raised with Roozi Araghi. He was a caring, gentle and sweet soul. Australia worse for the loss. pic.twitter.com/GxrnKlEHio
— Sam Dastyari (@samdastyari) October 26, 2016
Much sadness in Dept of Health for loss at Dreamworld of Roozi Araghi, described as "larger than life, a genuine force of nature". So sorry
— Sussan Ley (@sussanley) October 26, 2016
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said his office would be co-ordinating arrangements for the victim’s family members to travel to the Gold Coast, and had been offered support from “all sorts of corporates”, and that airlines had offered to fly families up from their homes.
“The focus really is how we can comfort the families of these people and the Gold Coast. We will rally behind them, we do that. We’re a country town when it comes to that sort of stuff and we’re going to do our best,” he told Today.
CHILDREN ARE TOP PRIORITY
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the priority at the moment was to ensure children involved in the accident and those who had lost family were cared for.
“Let’s concentrate on those young children, let’s get them the care and support they need,” she said told Sky News on Wednesday morning.
The two children who are believed to have been involved the incident were taken to Gold Coast University Hospital where they remain in care, Ms Palaszczuk said, and family members of all victims were being contacted.
It is understood the group was holidaying on the Gold Coast from Canberra when they decided to visit the country’s largest theme park.
Ms Dorsett said her granddaughter was “distraught” at the loss of her doting mother, whose Facebook page was filled with photos of her happy children, her partner and her two dogs.
When the ride crashed, witnesses said they saw family members panic and about 20 visitors rush from the ride. Those on the scene have told how they tried to comfort a young girl who was left screaming as disaster shattered the fun park atmosphere.
“She just kept screaming ‘Where’s Mummy? Where’s Mummy?’” witness Claire Wooley said.
“We tried to comfort her, but she was so emotional it was hard.”
Fellow witness Lia Capes said: “We saw [a] little girl and we believe it was her mum because it was just her and her little sister that was an infant.”
She also said, “I was speaking to one of the guys and he said it was the raft or the boat thing in front of him, the whole thing flipped and everyone was screaming.”
A male witness said, “there were kids on board screaming while their mum was trapped under”. Meanwhile another woman said a woman was “crushed” by the ride and left “hanging by her foot”.
‘WE NEED TO ENSURE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN’
The four victims were believed to be just five seconds from safety when the six-man circular raft riding on a cushion of air flipped on its underwater conveyor belt. Two of the victims were ejected from the raft while the other two were trapped as the ride malfunctioned.
Police and consular officials were working through the night to notify overseas relatives of one of the victims.
Following a briefing from Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart on Wednesday morning, Ms Palaszczuk said 30 detectives had been assigned to investigate the deaths.
The Premier told ABC radio the investigation would today focus on the ride itself, along with Dreamworld’s policies and procedures.
She said the incident was “the worst theme park tragedy that we’ve seen in Queensland”.
“That’s why this investigation needs to be thorough. The coroner will be involved, it is so serious, the police have 30 detectives down there,” she said.
“We need to ensure that everything is looked at to ensure that this never happens again.”
Ms Palaszczuk said police had been working into the night speaking with witnesses and would continue taking witness statements and investigating the scene today.
She said there would be “a lot of counselling” required for emergency workers involved, as well as families who were at the park on Tuesday.
Family members of those who attended Dreamworld yesterday have been warned the visitors may go into shock over the next few days, and have been encouraged to contact Lifeline.
Extra government resources have been allocated to the mental health service to cope with the demand for counselling, the Premier said.
Police confirmed they were combing CCTV footage for clues as to what led the ride to “malfunction” and cause the horror crash.
Heavy equipment including excavators was used to scour the scene overnight.
Queensland Police Inspector Tod Reid said the “complex retrieval” will take several hours and involve heavy equipment.
Dreamworld CEO Craig Davidson said park staff were “deeply shocked and saddened” by the tragedy and “our hearts and thoughts go to the families involved and their loved ones”.
Floral tributes have begun to be laid at Dreamworld’s entrance as Gold Coast residents and visitors are in shock and mourning, and thousand have posted online tributes.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday he was saddened to hear of the “tragic accident at Dreamworld earlier today”.
“Theme parks are a place for family fun and happiness, not tragedy. This is a very, very, sad, tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives,” he said.
“This is a very sad day, and we trust there will be a thorough investigation into the causes of this accident over the days to follow.”
I'm very saddened by the tragedy at Dreamworld today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families. https://t.co/FGF9vsrB1s
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) October 25, 2016
The Gold Coast mayor said it was “a very sad day for our city” and visited the park to pay his condolences to the family.
“The Gold Coast is renowned for giving people wonderful memories,” he said. “This is the reverse of that.
“We will bind together and we will help in what way we can for the family involved in this tragedy.”
Ms Palaszczuk also paid tribute to the witnesses and members of the emergency services who rushed to help.
“I understand there were many witnesses,” she said. “The scene, I’m told, was horrific. It was a horrific scene.”
A former Dreamworld staffer who worked at the park for more than a decade told the Gold Coast Bulletin the six-seater craft had nearly finished the ride when it hit an empty raft ahead and flipped about 2.20pm on Tuesday, Queensland time.
“If you ever saw a doughnut being made at Donut King, they have a conveyor belt at the end that the doughnuts go up to dry off,” he said.
“It’s exactly the same thing ... It just takes them from the water in the bottom to the unloading point at the end.”
Meanwhile, reports emerged last night that Dreamworld visitors said there had been problems on the ride earlier in the day.
“We were waiting there for about half an hour and the engineers had to come,” the visitor told Nine News.
“They drained all the water out and then had to fill it all back up.”
It is believed the ride was also drained while attempts were made to rescue the four adults.
Shocked Dreamworld visitors are streaming out of the theme park after ride incident. @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/jAg87oPqxy
— Tom Forbes (@tomforbesGC) October 25, 2016
Dreamworld went into lockdown after the incident, with thousands spilling into the carpark to escape. The theme park issued a statement last night saying it would remain closed until further notice.
Chaplains visited the park to offer support while others have left tributes at the scene overnight.
It is the second time this year the park has been forced to close due to safety concerns over a ride. In April, it was shut down for a weekend after a man nearly drowned on the Rocky Hollow Log Ride.
The family-friendly Thunder River Rapids Ride was opened in December 1986 and is Australia’s only river rapids ride.
Originally published as Couple missed Dreamworld disaster when they let others go ahead of them
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