Thunder River Rapids incident at Dreamworld

[Original]

2 minutes ago, ashhole157 said:

reported 3 dead not 4. Although none are confirmed hope to god they are only injured.  

 

Confirmed by Dreamworld in a statement, 3 dead. 

[buzzkill13]

Everyone watch ABC News 24 - QPS and Emergency services due to make a statement any minute now 

[New display name]

[Reanimated35]

Police just confirmed 4 fatalities

http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2016/10/25/critical-incident-coomera/

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

2 of the riders deceased were friends of a close friend of mine. Brother and sister aged in their 20s. 

Let's all calm down and stop the wild speculation we're seeing thrown around here until more is known. 

Today is a sad day for the industry and for the people involved. Please be calm and respectful.

My initial reaction on hearing about it were that someone must have stood up, but after seeing the pictures it appears to be a fairly simple explanation involving no rider error. Let's just wait and see.

[lifeofsamage]

4th person just confirmed dead

[Flynn_Smith]

Just confirmed by Dreamworld, 4 have been killed.

[ashhole157]

abc 24 press conference moments away

[Ashley]

Un-believable that's all I can say.

I can feel for the families, staff and everyone else involved, the ride attendants running the ride will feel absolutely horrible. 

[Reanimated35]

QPS Media Unit ‏@QPSmedia  1m1 minute ago

Police will address the media at 4:45pm at #Dreamworld and will be available on our Livestream channel.

[Ashley]

All I'm going to put out there is my sincere condolences to the people who had a relationship with the victims.

RIP everyone who couldn't get out.

[MickeyD]

My Heart goes out to everyone affected and all those Team Members belonging to our beautiful Aussie Theme Park, Dreamworld during this horrific and extremely traumatising time.

Whilst there will be a tonne of negative speculation surrounding the future of the ride and indeed the Park itself, right now is perhaps not the best time.

I prefer that we can allow the Park to Mourn it's greatest devastating moment and through all the sadness, can find the wings to fly when the time is right

Edited October 25, 2016 by MickeyD

[pushbutton]

How absolutely tragic. Thunder river rapids is my favourite ride at Dreamworld, and I thought it was one of if not the safest ride.

I will be very interested to hear what caused this, and what the outcome will be for the ride.

 

I thought the incident last year on Green Lantern was as bad as it could get. 

My deepest sympathy to all involved. 

[downunder]

This is just awful, heart breaking for the families of those involved. Condolences.

I'll leave it to the authorities and Dreamworld to disclose what happened.

[kujotess]

Craziest news I think I've ever heard in my life since it's at a place I have basically grown up with. RIP to those poor 4 people I could not begin to imagine what they went through and deepest sorrows to the poor families of those 4 killed. Something I never in a million year would have thought to happen... 

[diesal11]

http://livestream.com/queenslandpolice/events/5898518

[Jamberoo Fan]

 Press Conference Live (now finished)

Edited October 25, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan
Added finished remark

[Ryande16]

Tragic tragic news, my thoughts prayers are with the familes and those who had to witness this shocking incident. Lets just hope nothing like this happens ever again, and that Dreamworld makes a fully recovery. R.I.P ??

[Reanimated35]

For anyone who missed the conference, it was pretty much as expected. Confirming the 4 deaths, 2 male, 2 female aged 32 - early 40's. 

Unable to confirm any other details. It's obviously under investigation by state coroner, WHS, QAS & QPS etc. 

QAS stated there was nothing that could have been done to save the victims as their injuries were "incompatible with living".

Park is currently closed. No word on opening hours of the park at this stage. 

[Santa07]

Absolutely awful news... as it's something that happens very very rarely with today's modern ride safety and it is local to us it is quite a shock to hear... my thoughts are with everyone connected to those in the accident, @AlexB I give my condolences to you and your friend...

Edited October 26, 2016 by joz
Reference to deleted content removed

[westical]

1 hour ago, AlexB said:

2 of the riders deceased were friends of a close friend of mine. Brother and sister aged in their 20s. 

Note the ages have been given as 30s & 40s. 

[Tim Dasco]

I just can't believe this happened. I mean that 4 people who went to a park to have a fun day and now can't come home. Not to think about the other family members involved. If they had kids that now have no parents. It deeply saddens me and I am just shocked.

[UpperCoomera]

My deepest sympathy to all involved - the victims and their families, the operators, all who witnessed it, the emergency workers. I'm shocked beyond all belief.

Regardless of the cause it will not keep me away from the great place Dreamworld is.  Everytime I walk up the driveway to the street and can see the Tower of Terror reaching for the skies, it brings a smile to my face everytime.

Now I'm looking at it and can't help but feel terribly sad.

I'm at a loss to how it happened, but for now let's just think about all involved and send them our best.

Edited October 26, 2016 by joz
Reference to deleted content removed

[elemist]

What an odd turn of phrase from QAS.. "suffered injuries that were incompatible with living".

My 2c - terrible tragedy, but i can't see any way in which this results in the closure of Dreamworld. Even if worst case they were found at fault for the incident. I honestly believe we have some of the safest parks in the world, unfortunately when a few worst case scenarios line up for a perfect storm, an incident like this can occur.

I would think the park will be closed for ~ a week whilst initial investigations occur. The area around the ride will be fenced off whilst investigations continue. I think attendance will drop significantly for the next few months, then once the incident investigations are released and the coverage goes away things will slowly return to normal.

The fate of the ride i guess will depend largely on the cause of the accident. If it's found to be a design floor (unlikely due to its age and years of operation), or an expensive to rectify problem then i would guess it will be closed. If it was rider error then i would expect there will be a number of safety changes and the ride will reopen.

As sad as it is, i also suspect the ages of the riders to make a difference in peoples reactions. An innocent child/teenager compared to an adult is just different again. It's still a terrible tragedy, but i guess the adults can weigh the decision to go a ride more than a child maybe? I don't know.. 

 

[Bailz]

R.I.P I hope the families associated have the best of luck as they go through this tough time. This is a very serious tragedy and is nothing to be joked about. I will keep the families in my prayers.