Thunder River Rapids Ride

Thunder River Rapids Ride
The main rapids section of the Thunder River Rapids Ride.
Dreamworld
Area Town of Gold Rush
Coordinates 27°51′44.44″S 153°18′54.85″E / 27.8623444°S 153.3152361°E / -27.8623444; 153.3152361Coordinates: 27°51′44.44″S 153°18′54.85″E / 27.8623444°S 153.3152361°E / -27.8623444; 153.3152361
Status Removed
Opening date 11 December 1986 (1986-12-11)
Closing date 25 October 2016 (2016-10-25)[lower-alpha 1]
General statistics
Type River rafting ride
Model Custom
Length 410 m (1,350 ft)
Speed 45 km/h (28 mph)
Duration 4
Height restriction 120 cm (3 ft 11 in)
Website Thunder River Rapids
Q4U available

The Thunder River Rapids Ride was a river rapid water ride located in the Town of Gold Rush section of Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia.[3] It was recently Australia's only river rapids ride; however, a previous Rapids ride, The Snowy River Rampage operated at Wonderland Sydney.

After four riders were killed on it in late October 2016 the ride, and Dreamworld was closed. On 9 November 2016 Ardent Leisures' CEO announced that the ride would not reopen, and was to be demolished. In October 2017, police recommended that no criminal charges be laid against any person in relation to the deaths.

History

Gold Rush Country (now known as the Town of Gold Rush) opened on 11 December 1986. The area featured the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride and the Thunder River Rapids Ride. The Thunder River Rapids Ride was among the most popular rides at Dreamworld until its closure[4]

Summary

The rapids are achieved by logs being attached to the base of a river channel.

Queue

Riders enter a long indoor queue with several switchbacks. The queue then bridges across part of the ride's water storage area before reaching the circular station. This station originally featured a rotating platform which allowed riders to mount and dismount the boats without the need for the boats to stop.

Ride

Riders would board one of several six-person circular rafts.[5] The raft is dispatched and the riders travel back past the ride's queue and into a cave. Upon exiting the cave, riders experience the main rapids section of the ride. This section runs alongside a large water catchment which contained the water storage for the Thunder River Rapids Ride. The raft then goes under the Eureka Mountain Mine Ride's station and heads back towards its own station. Before departing the ride, guests are brought back up to the level of the station by a conveyor belt.[6]

2016 incident and closure

On 25 October 2016, a malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids Ride resulted in the deaths of four people.[7] This is regarded as the worst accident at an Australian theme park since the 9 June 1979 ghost train ride fire at Luna Park Sydney.[8] For reasons yet to be determined, one of the rafts, which was also occupied, became stuck at the bottom of a conveyor belt that transports the rafts to the area where passengers disembark. Another raft carrying six people then collided with it and bounced backwards into the conveyor belt that transports the raft from the bottom of the ride to the boarding area and was dragged under backwards.[7][9]

Queensland Police Forensic Team investigate an accident on the Thunder Rapids River Ride that claimed the lives of four people.

Park operators stopped the ride and started draining the river, over 7 paramedic crews responded to the 000 call along with firefighters and police.[7] The recovery of the bodies went on into the early hours of the next morning with some paramedics requiring counselling due to the trauma of the scene.

Dreamworld released a statement on their website and Facebook page stating:

Dreamworld announced that the park would reopen on 28 October for a special memorial service for the victims.[11] However the reopening to the public was subject to discussions with Queensland police as the ride was being treated as a crime scene.[12] The 28 October reopening was cancelled on 27 October.[13]

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate offered his condolences to the families of those affected and extended any support financially and emotionally to all those involved.[14] The then 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."[15]

On 29 October the Queensland Government announced a 'blitz' of safety inspections, and an audit of state workplace health and safety laws.[16]

The Busch Gardens Tampa theme park shut its Congo River Rapids ride in response to the incident, until the cause was determined.[17][18] However, it was later reopened on 26 October after a review and safety check was completed.[19][20]

On 9 November, Ardent Leisure chief executive Deborah Thomas announced that the 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.[1][2]

Dreamworld reopened its doors on 10 December 2016 for daily operation. The ride has since been dismantled and the location fenced off.[21][22]

Aftermath

In a report to the Queensland Coroner in October 2017, Police recommended that no criminal charges be laid against any person.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Although the ride was temporarily closed after the incident on 25 October 2016, it was later deemed to be closed indefinitely. On 9 November 2016 it was shut permanently, and is to be demolished, out of respect for the families involved.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids Ride to be demolished after theme park deaths". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids ride that killed four people to be demolished". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 8 November 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
  3. ↑ "Park Map" (PDF). Dreamworld. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "Dreamworld History" (PDF). Dreamworld. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "Thunder River Rapids (Dreamworld)". Database Entry. Parkz. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  6. ↑ lollydove (9 September 2010). "Thunder River Rapids POV - Dreamworld, Australia". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 "Dreamworld: Four people killed on Thunder River Rapids ride at Gold Coast theme park". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Ludlow, Mark; Marin-Guzman, David (2 November 2016). "Dreamworld's rapids ride different from others around the world". Financial Review. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Dreamworld deaths: Four fatalities in horror Thunder River Rapids accident". Brisbane Times. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Gold Coast's BIGGEST Theme Park | Dreamworld". www.dreamworld.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Dreamworld to reopen on Friday for memorial service after ride tragedy". 9news.com.au. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Dreamworld accident: Qld Police to meet with theme park over reopening". Brisbane Times. 27 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dreamworld's grim reopening cancelled at last minute". news.com.au. 27 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  14. ↑ Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says "it's a very sad day for our city". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Australian theme parks to undergo 'safety blitz'". NewsComAu. News Limited. AAP. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016. "This is about protecting visitors to our theme parks and restoring public confidence in Queensland’s prime tourism assets" – Grace Grace (Queensland Industrial Relations Minister)
  17. ↑ McMah, Lauren (27 October 2016). "US theme park ride shuts down over Dreamworld tragedy". NewsComAu. News Limited. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  18. ↑ Branco, Jorge (27 October 2016). "US theme park temporarily shuts rapids ride". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  19. ↑ Staff (26 October 2016). "Busch Gardens reopens Congo River Rapids ride". FOX13 News. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  20. ↑ Web Staff (26 October 2016). "Busch Gardens closes 'Congo River Rapids' ride after deadly accident on similar ride in Australia". WFTS. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  21. ↑ Brook, Benedict (10 December 2016). "The one thing you won't see at Dreamworld now it's open". new.com.au. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  22. ↑ Kishore, Divya (10 December 2016). "Australia's Dreamworld theme park reopens after fatal accident but witnesses low attendance". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
  23. ↑ Stolz, Greg (21 October 2017). "Dreamworld tragedy: Police recommend Coronial hearing ahead of first anniversary of Thunder River Rapids incident". www.couriermail.com.au. News Corp. Retrieved 22 October 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
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