Disaster victims’ family struggles

The family of two Dreamworld ride victims say they are facing financial difficulties and are struggling to stop blaming themselves for the tragedy on the Thunder River Rapids on Tuesday.

Sandra Brookman, a close friend of Kim Dorsett’s for 58 years, set up a My Cause fundraising page on Thursday to help the devastated family following the deaths of Dorsett’s children Kate Goodchild, 32, and Luke Dorsett, 35, as well as Dorsett’s partner, Roozi Araghi, 38, and Sydney mother Cindy Low, 42.

Goodchild’s 13-year-old daughter Ebony survived the accident but watched on, screaming, as her father tried to save his wife.

Brookman said the Dorsett family were ‘‘in a terrible state’’ and the fund has been set up to help support Evie and Ebony into the future as well as pay for immediate costs.

Dorsett was on the Gold Coast with her children for a family wedding but made the decision to stay at their hotel while the rest of the group went to Dreamworld because she preferred Movie World. he got the phone call from Dave’s mother in Canberra to say her children were dead,’’ Brookman said.

‘‘Then she rang me and just said ‘thank god you’re home, my kids are dead, they drowned, my kids are dead’.’’

She said Mr Turner is ‘‘devastated, he’s blaming himself.’’

Ms Dorsett had raised her three children on her own in Canberra, working at Woolworth’s and obtaining a teaching degree while putting them through school, she said. She lives in public housing so can’t sell her home to help her widower son-in-law and grandchildren.