26 October 2016 | It is meant to be one of the happiest places in Australia - a place where all the family can come together for fun, laughter and rides that thrill. But Dreamworld is waking to a nightmare this morning. Four people dead - with reports one of them is a New Zealander.
Police have confirmed the husband of one of the four killed in a tragic accident at Dreamworld did not have his wallet and phone stolen as he tried to save his wife.
The family of one of the victims of the deadly Dreamworld tragedy had reportedly shared shocking news that her husband was robbed as he tried to save her life.
According to Seven News, the husband of Kate Goodchild, 32, who was killed when the Gold Coast theme park's raft ride malfunctioned, had his wallet and phone stolen from the family's pram, family members said.
Seven reporter Robert Ovadia said the victim's husband had his valuables in the pram of the couple's eight-month-old child when they were taken as he tried to help his wife.
However, police just said at a media stand up this was incorrect.
Goodchild was one of four people killed on the Thunder River Rapids ride on Tuesday.
Her brother, Luke Dorsett, 35, and his partner Roozi Araghi, 38, as well as another woman Cindy Low, 42, who is not believed to be known to the family.
Low was visiting the Gold Coast theme park with son Kieran, 10, daughter Isla, 6, and husband, Matthew, 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.
Another child, reported to have been 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.
Luke Dorsett. Photo / Supplied
Roozi Aragh. Photo / Supplied
Cindy Low. Photo / Supplied
The children were both transported to Gold Coast University Hospital where they continue to receive care, though police say they "escaped uninjured". It has been reported the 10-year-old boy witnessed his mother's death.
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."
PARK CLOSED 'INDEFINITELY'
Queensland Emergency services are seen at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast yesterday after four were killed. Photo / AAP
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, 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."
Rescue personnel stand by the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. Photo / Channel 9 via AP
The devastated mother of two of the victims says her "whole family has been wiped out" after her children Ms Goodchild and 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 Dorsett's partner, 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."
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 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 Araghi, said Australia was "worse for the loss".
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, 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.
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.
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'
Still from Channel 9 News of the accident at Dreamworld. Photo / Channel 9 via AP
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, 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."
The Dreamworld website's colourful homepage has been replaced with this message. Photo / Supplied
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
"We will bind together and we will help in what way we can for the family involved in this tragedy."
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."
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.
