Speculation and media beat ups - Thunder River Rapids incident

[erikals]

Just now, JeffreyMoore said:

im sure they would remove the whole ride - concrete channels

im sure this incident will also kill any plans to refurbish eureka as they would not chance any incidents on another 30 year old ride

And IIRC parts to refurbish Eureka Mountain Mine Ride are rarer than hens teeth...

[razza1987]

Every time I think I've seen the most depressing thing in this whole situation something else is shown or spoken of that makes me even sadder

Edited October 27, 2016 by razza1987

[Ashley]

The trouble would with removing the rapid ride would be the middle water reserve and if eureka mountain has asbestos in it, it will make it even harder.

[ashhole157]

Ardent CEO has donated her $850,000 pay bonus along with another $157,500 to the red cross to benefit the families of this tragedy. Should shut the media up on the "article" now.

[Theme Park Girl]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

I think what @Theme Park Girl is trying to say if you go to pay your respects your then forced to deal with the media circus as you can't avoid it and you can't tell them to back off as it is a public area.  

 

Thank you. That's exactly what I was saying. 

[Harold]

The sort of event that attracts completely unconnected people to show up with flowers so they can have their own private grieving moment  (don't know why you need to go there for that, but whatever) is the same kind of event that the media is interested in, for obvious reasons. 

I think the media is filling the role of the villain before we know who the real villain is (if anyone). 

[razza1987]

According to The Project Deb Thomas apparently contacted the family within an hour of the AGM. The family said she seemed genuine and sincere and has offered to pay for their funerals

Also the brother of the brother and sister who were killed released a statement today. He said people should be thinking about the children who had lost their mothers and had to watch them die. He said no one should point fingers and to wait for the investigation to be finished. He then finished his statement by saying if he could trade places with Kate that he would 

Edited October 27, 2016 by razza1987

[Theme Park Girl]

5 minutes ago, Harold said:

 (don't know why you need to go there for that, but whatever)

Obviously being the place of relevance to the incident, and also because I wanted to personally deliver a card of condolence and support to Dreamworld staff, as well as leave flowers. 

Not as sinister as you may think. 

[Harold]

Never suggested (or even implied) that it was sinister. Just don't think you have a right to privacy in that situation. 

[Jamberoo Fan]

14 hours ago, razza1987 said:

Maximum of six people on the ride? Are they speculating more rode it?

Not speculating but it does depend on whether official ride operational rules allowed it on that occasion.

2 hours ago, Richard said:

I do have my genuine concerns about the media in general; but the vibe I'm getting here is that *this time* they've gone too far. Not that they go too far in general.

Since I've posted a lot of the sensationalised news articles in this thread, I would just like to point out that I do agree that this level of sensationalism is nothing new in the media generally - this is normal practice for them even back to the 1970's. I'm only pointing out that they've going too far this time for a theme park incident - even if it involved fatalities - as like I pointed out in one of my posts 2 days ago, the sensationalism for this type of news event was non-existent in articles from 1979 about the Ghost Train fire.

1 hour ago, Wilkommen said:

The ride obviously has had some minor issues but it seems at no point did anyone consider them to be potentially deadly issues.

I've avoided mentioning this so far for a few reasons but when I first rode Thunder River Rapids just over a decade ago, the way the incident has rumoured to have occurred was the only fear I had about the ride. I can't remember (yet) what made me think that it was a possibility (one reason why I haven't mentioned it in the past few days) but everytime I rode the ride since, I always prepared myself for such an incident.

I didn't ask DW the possibility of it occurring as my faith in their safety standards was very high. The possibility of it occurring also seemed too obvious to me that I assumed manufacturers noticed the possibility too & put some sort of prevention mechanism to avoid it occurring (like a computer algorithm that stops the conveyor belt if the unload station is occupied for unusually too long). All theme park rides have these sorts of prevention mechanisms (like rollercoaster block brakes) so I believed Thunder River Rapids was the same particularly since I didn't know what mechanics could be located underwater - this is what probably heightened my fear as I couldn't see any underwater prevention mechanics for myself particularly with the water pumps operating right next to the unload station. There were also other reasons why I didn't ask DW.

It is kind of haunting me that one of the only fears I have had about a theme park ride has actually occurred.

52 minutes ago, ashhole157 said:

Ardent CEO has donated her $850,000 pay bonus along with another $157,500 to the red cross to benefit the families of this tragedy. Should shut the media up on the "article" now.

Media Report Clarification:

Quote

Contrary to media reports, Deborah Thomas was granted a short-term cash incentive of $167,500 for her performance for the year ended 30 June 2016.

The reference to a short-term incentive payment valued at approximately $860,000 are misleading and incorrect. 

The number quoted in the media refers to the grant of performance rights issued under the terms of the Group's Long-Term Incentive plan which may only vest over a 4-year period commencing in 2017.

As previously advised at the Annual General Meeting the Group is offering the victim's families support through the Queensland Police liaison office and this includes financial support.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Jamberoo Fan

[razza1987]

How did it allow it on this occasion when there was in fact only 6 people on the raft?

[Carrie_Smattick]

http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/in-the-news/why-im-still-taking-my-three-kids-to-dreamworld

Feeling like I lost a few IQ points reading this rubbish. This genius reckons the river rapids ride will be up and running in a couple of weeks for when her family visits the GC and she'll go toss the kids on it. She's more interested in talking about getting a "wet bum", I guess the four people who died were just an inconvenience to her holiday.

[Kussie]

24 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

Not speculating but it does depend on whether official ride operational rules allowed it on that occasion.

Since I've posted a lot of the sensationalised news articles in this thread, I would just like to point out that I do agree that this level of sensationalism is nothing new in the media generally - this is normal practice for them even back to the 1970's. I'm only pointing out that they've going too far this time for a theme park incident - even if it involved fatalities - as like I pointed out in one of my posts 2 days ago, the sensationalism for this type of news event was non-existent in articles from 1979 about the Ghost Train fire.

I've avoided mentioning this so far for a few reasons but when I first rode Thunder River Rapids just over a decade ago, the way the incident has rumoured to have occurred was the only fear I had about the ride. I can't remember (yet) what made me think that it was a possibility (one reason why I haven't mentioned it in the past few days) but everytime I rode the ride since, I always prepared myself for such an incident.

I didn't ask DW the possibility of it occurring as my faith in their safety standards was very high. The possibility of it occurring also seemed too obvious to me that I assumed manufacturers noticed the possibility too & put some sort of prevention mechanism to avoid it occurring (like a computer algorithm that stops the conveyor belt if the unload station is occupied for unusually too long). All theme park rides have these sorts of prevention mechanisms (like rollercoaster block brakes) so I believed Thunder River Rapids was the same particularly since I didn't know what mechanics could be located underwater - this is what probably heightened my fear as I couldn't see any underwater prevention mechanics for myself particularly with the water pumps operating right next to the unload station. There were also other reasons why I didn't ask DW.

It is kind of haunting me that one of the only fears I have had about a theme park ride has actually occurred.

Media Report Clarification:

I don't believe it would have been possible to happen in the same manner back then.  That long ago if I recall correctly they still had the rotating platform for loading and unloading instead of the separated stations like it has now.  So rafts would have come off the conveyer and would have been constantly moving along instead of being stopped like they are now.

Though I can't remember for sure when the rotating platform was removed.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Kussie

[Theme Park Girl]

25 minutes ago, Harold said:

Never suggested (or even implied) that it was sinister. Just don't think you have a right to privacy in that situation. 

And I never suggested that I had a "right" to privacy. I simply stated that it doesn't seem fair that grieving public should have to be subjected to the media circus  in order to pay their respects on site. As human beings, that they should know when it's time to back off. But clearly they don't when it's related to a juicy news story. 

[AllegroCrab]

12 minutes ago, Carrie_Smattick said:

http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/in-the-news/why-im-still-taking-my-three-kids-to-dreamworld

Feeling like I lost a few IQ points reading this rubbish. This genius reckons the river rapids ride will be up and running in a couple of weeks for when her family visits the GC and she'll go toss the kids on it. She's more interested in talking about getting a "wet bum", I guess the four people who died were just an inconvenience to her holiday.

That's not the tone I got from the article at all. I agree with a lot of what is said re: "you could categorise almost anything as risky and there are few guaranteed certainties in life" and having "confidence that theme parks prioritise safety".

 

You're right though, a bit of an oversight to think that the ride will be running again so soon, but I don't think she meant anything like the words you're putting in her mouth about the incident being an inconvenice to her holiday, you've misinterpreted the point of the article.

[JeffreyMoore]

21 minutes ago, Kussie said:

I don't believe it would have been possible to happen in the same manner back then.  That long ago if I recall correctly they still had the rotating platform for loading and unloading instead of the separated stations like it has now.  So rafts would have come off the conveyer and would have been constantly moving along instead of being stopped like they are now.

Though I can't remember for sure when the rotating platform was removed.

The rotating platform was removed for safety yet if it was not removed this incident likely whould not have happened  ?

[Kussie]

1 minute ago, JeffreyMoore said:

The rotating platform was removed for safety yet if it was not removed this incident likely whould not have happened  ?

I didn't say that, just that it couldn't have happened in the same manner.  As the rafts would never been stopped to unload passengers.  

[JeffreyMoore]

6 minutes ago, Kussie said:

I didn't say that, just that it couldn't have happened in the same manner.  As the rafts would never been stopped to unload passengers.  

Without the rafts been stoped there would have been less chance of the raft getting stuck is how i see it 

Edited October 27, 2016 by JeffreyMoore

[Jamberoo Fan]

42 minutes ago, razza1987 said:

How did it allow it on this occasion when there was in fact only 6 people on the raft?

In case you're mistaken, this is not Tuesday's incident. This was last month & there were 7 people on the raft in the photos shown in the article I posted.

2 minutes ago, Kussie said:

I don't believe it would have been possible to happen in the same manner back then.  That long ago if I recall correctly they still had the rotating platform for loading and unloading instead of the separated stations like it has now.  So rafts would have come off the conveyer and would have been constantly moving along instead of being stopped like they are now.

Everytime I've been on the ride there was no rotating platform.

[New display name]

If I can stretch the skeet memory back that far it would at least be a couple of owners of DW ago that the turntable was removed.   It could be 20 years ago. 

[razza1987]

9 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

In case you're mistaken, this is not Tuesday's incident. This was last month & there were 7 people on the raft in the photos shown in the article I posted.

Everytime I've been on the ride there was no rotating platform.

I must have missed what article you are referring to 

[JeffreyMoore]

20 minutes ago, Jamberoo Fan said:

In case you're mistaken, this is not Tuesday's incident. This was last month & there were 7 people on the raft in the photos shown in the article I posted.

Everytime I've been on the ride there was no rotating platform.

I remember the rotating platform in the late 80's - early 90's but also do not remember when it was removed 

But it seems removeing it for safety may have been what made it less safe leading to this incident been abel to happen - just how im thinking about now tho

[razza1987]

1 hour ago, AllegroCrab said:

That's not the tone I got from the article at all. I agree with a lot of what is said re: "you could categorise almost anything as risky and there are few guaranteed certainties in life" and having "confidence that theme parks prioritise safety".

 

You're right though, a bit of an oversight to think that the ride will be running again so soon, but I don't think she meant anything like the words you're putting in her mouth about the incident being an inconvenice to her holiday, you've misinterpreted the point of the article.

I agree with you. She raised some very valid points. Especially how low the risk is dying on a theme park ride. I didn't have any problem with the article either 

I find it interesting none of these people raised their so called concerns before this happened. Especially this former employee. Case to grind for being sacked me thinks

 

 

[Jamberoo Fan]

From the ABC:

Quote

A Brisbane woman says Dreamworld staff "pushed off" her concerns when her raft became stuck in the Thunder River Rapids ride, just months before four people died in "very similar" circumstances.

She had a "very similar incident" occur on the Thunder River Rapids ride in July, during which her raft — carrying three adults and one child — had hit an empty raft at the bottom of the conveyor belt.

"We bumped into it, but luckily, the force from how we were [sitting] was enough to push it on," she said.

Her raft then became stuck, and a female attendant had to come and kick it free.

When she told another attendant at the end of the ride about her experience, the attendant "pushed off" her concerns and told her: "All the empty rafts get stuck there. There's a bit of a current that just pulls them and keeps them there, but the next raft comes and just bumps them out of the way."

The attendant also told her an empty raft was always sent around the circuit as "a bit of a buffer".

[Theme Park Girl]

So sad to see how much this situation is getting out of hand. It's an absolute train wreck.

Janine brought this article to my attention before.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3872842/Outrage-Dreamworld-continuing-sell-50-photos-killer-Thunder-River-Rapids-ride-emergency-services-battled-save-four-trapped-tourists.html?ito=social-facebook_Australia

Despite the misleading clickbait headline, it's actually about a guy who has gone to the media over the fact that Dreamworld was selling him $50 worth of souvenir photos in the Kodak shop at the time of the incident, and this act has apparently left him traumatised. 

Yes, you read right. 

F*%king appalling. With his logic, maybe I should be going to the media as well (and hey! Why not seek compensation as well? Everyone else apparently is trying to) because I walked past the ride 20 minutes before the accident took place.

Scabs 

 

Edited October 27, 2016 by Theme Park Girl