20 calls a day to fix attractions

A RIDE operator was sacked from Dreamworld after an eerily similar incident two years before the Thunder River Rapids Ride disaster in 2016 that killed four people, an inquest has been told.

In the 2014 incident, two rafts collided on the ride’s conveyor belt but no passengers were injured.

The Southport Coroner’s Court this week has heard how in the tragedy that unfolded on October 25, 2016, a pump failed for the third time that day, causing two rafts to collide on the conveyor belt, flipping one and killing passengers Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low.

The hearing was also told yesterday electricians did not attend the second pump failure on the day of the fatalities because they were busy elsewhere in the park.

A Dreamworld mechanic said it was not unusual to receive 20 calls a day to help fix rides.

Barrister Steven Whybrow, acting for the families of Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett, told the inquest former ride operator Stephen Buss was fired from Dreamworld after a “safety incident” in November 2014 in which two rafts collided on the conveyor belt.

Mr Whybrow read from Mr Buss’s termination letter that “a raft containing guests has bottomed out at the top of the conveyor due to water supply”.

“An additional raft containing guests has then collided with it that continued to be pushed by the conveyor until it was shut down.”

The inquiry was told Mr Buss shut down the ride and started it up again.

Mr Whybrow asked ride operator Chloe Brix, who had worked at the park since 2013, if she knew why Mr Buss was fired.

She said she found out through “gossip”.

“I am not sure what caused him to shut the ride down,” she said.

“But he restarted the conveyor to bring another raft home.”

Mr Brix said after the incident, operators had not been made aware of any change in safety policies or debriefed on proper processes.

The explosive claim was a first in a series on the fifth day of the inquest.

Dreamworld mechanic Matthew Robertson said an electrician did not attend the second failure of the south pump on the day of the disaster because they were too busy elsewhere in the park.

Mr Robertson said when the first breakdown occurred at 11.50am, the mechanics called in help from an electrician who then showed them how to fix the pump.

“They (electricians) were distracted, there were other issues electrically in other aspects of the park,” he said.

“I thought that if we knew and were allowed to reset them, it would speed the process up.”

When the pump failed again at 1.09pm, Mr Robertson went to the ride with another mechanic.

Mr Robertson said he remained at the Thunder River Rapids Ride control panel when the other mechanic went to another part of the ride.

“I’m not 100 per cent if it was communicated to me before or after (that he) attended the (pump) drive room,” he said.

“He returned and said he had reset the pumps.”

Mr Robertson said he and another mechanic had been rostered on as park technicians on the day.

He said the usual practice was for one electrician and one mechanic to be working as park technicians.

He said he was asked by ride supervisor Sarah Cotter what they were going to do about the pump dropping out.

Mr Robertson told the inquest he told her it was policy to shut the ride down for the day if the same fault occurred for a third time.

He said he had been told of that policy a week or two earlier.

Asked if it was common for mechanics to be called to fix broken-down rides, Mr Robertson said it was not unusual for there to be about 20 calls on a busy day.

The inquest was adjourned until Monday.