Operator not told how to stop ride

A JUNIOR Dreamworld ride operator was unaware how to stop the conveyor belt of a malfunctioning ride on the day four visitors died at the Gold Coast theme park.

Courtney Williams was working as a load operator on the Thunder River Rapids ride on October 25, 2016 when a raft collided with another raft and threw four guests into conveyor mechanism.

Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi all died in the incident, which is the subject of a coroner’s inquest at Southport.

Yesterday, Ms Williams revealed she had undertaken a 1½ -hour training course on the morning of the tragedy before beginning her shift on the ride.

Ms Williams said she was shown an emergency stop button by her trainer but was told she “did not need to use it”.

The stop button if pushed would have halted the ride’s conveyor belt within two seconds.

“I knew it was an emergency stop button, but I didn’t know what it was for,” Ms Williams told the inquest yesterday.

Ms Williams also said the ride was among the “top two” for park staff in terms of complexity because it was a water-based ride, despite its supposed family- friendly image.

The malfunction occurred when water levels dropped after a pump failed, leaving an empty raft stranded on rails on the conveyor belt.

Ms Williams said she assumed the ride would have automatically shut down in the event of a pump failure.

The day of the tragedy was her last day working at the theme park.

Earlier, the senior operator of the ride was told by a lawyer representing some of the victims’ families that they don’t hold him responsible for the tragedy.

Before beginning his cross-examination of Peter Nemeth, barrister Steven Whybrow, acting for Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett’s relatives, issued a brief statement.

“They don’t hold you in the least bit responsible for what happened on that day,” Mr Whybrow said.

Mr Nemeth said he had not been criticised by Dreamworld for his actions on the day of the tragedy since the incident.

He added he had not slept for three days after the tragedy and possibly “overthought” his role.

The inquest continues.