On 25 October 2016, a malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids Ride resulted in the deaths of four people. Due to the failure of one of the two large water pumps essential for the ride's operation, the water level in the ride dropped quickly, causing a raft, which was vacant, to become stranded on its support rails near the end of the raft conveyor, meaning that it was unable to reach the unloading area. Approximately one minute later, another raft, carrying six passengers, moved down the conveyor and collided with the stranded raft. Both rafts pivoted upwards, driven by movement of the conveyor, before the first raft fell back to a level position, resting on the support rails. The second raft was forced into a vertical position by the conveyor, and its passengers either fell out of the raft or became trapped close to the conveyor mechanism, resulting in fatal injuries to four passengers. Once the conveyor had been shut down by park staff, the surviving passengers, both of whom were children, were able to climb out of the second raft, still in a vertical position, on to nearby platforms. The two survivors were reported to be physically unharmed, but were sent to hospital and offered counselling. More than seven paramedic crews had responded to the 000 call, along with firefighters and police. They recovered the bodies of the deceased, which were badly disfigured from crush and compression injuries. Dreamworld released a statement on its website and Facebook page stating: Dreamworld announced that the park would reopen on 28 October for a special memorial service for the victims. However, the reopening to the public was subject to discussions with Queensland police as the ride was being treated as a crime scene. The 28 October reopening was cancelled on 27 October. Gold Coast mayor,
Tom Tate, offered his condolences to the families of those affected and promised support, financially and emotionally, to all those involved. The Australian prime minister,
Malcolm Turnbull, offered his condolences and support, releasing a statement via Twitter: "I'm very saddened by the tragedy at Dreamworld today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families." On 29 October, the Queensland Government announced a "blitz" of safety inspections and an audit of state workplace health and safety laws. The
Busch Gardens Tampa theme park in
Florida, United States, shut its
Congo River Rapids ride in response to the incident, until the cause of the Dreamworld accident had been determined. It was reopened on 26 October, after a review and safety check had been completed.
Permanent closure On 9 November, Ardent Leisure chief executive,
Deborah Thomas, announced that the Thunder River Rapids Ride would be permanently closed, out of respect to the victims and their families, and that they would be invited to help create a memorial in its place. In a report to the Queensland Coroner in October 2017, police recommended that no criminal charges be laid against any person.
Coroner's report The Queensland Coroner, James McDougall, released a report on 24 February 2020, detailing "irresponsible", "dangerous" and "inadequate" safety practices at the theme park that contributed to the four deaths, and recommending the Queensland office of industrial relations consider a prosecution. The ride had endured frequent breakdowns in the days leading up to the accident, and had several design and construction problems which contributed to the accident. and that:
Charges On 21 July 2020, it was announced that three charges had been laid against
Ardent Leisure, Dreamworld's parent company. The charges were filed by the Work Health and Safety prosecutor, under the Work Health and Safety Act, at the Brisbane Magistrates Court. The matter was first heard on July 29 in the Southport Magistrates Court. On the day before the scheduled trial, on 28 July 2020, Ardent Leisure pleaded guilty to the charges. Subsequently, in September 2020, they were fined $3.6 million (US$2.8 million) for the breach of the Work Health and Safety Act. In addition, a settlement amount for $2.1 million was paid to the family of one of the victims. ==Aftermath==