Ride malfunction kills four in Australia

SYDNEY — Four people were killed Tuesday when a river-rapids ride malfunctioned at a popular theme park on Australia’s east coast, officials said.

Two men and two women died while on the ride at Dreamworld, a park on Queensland state’s Gold Coast, Queensland police officer Tod Reid told reporters.

The Thunder River Rapids ride whisks people in circular rafts along a fast-moving, man-made river. A malfunction caused two people to be ejected from their raft, while two others were caught inside the ride, said Gavin Fuller, an officer with the Queensland Ambulance Service. Fuller did not know whether the two victims who were caught in the ride were trapped underwater or were caught up in the machinery.

Park staff members administered first aid to the victims, but their injuries were fatal, Fuller told reporters.

The victims were in their 30s and early 40s, he said. Reid said he was not aware of any previous problems with the ride. Police were interviewing witnesses and reviewing closed-circuit television footage of the malfunction while crews worked to remove the bodies from the scene on Tuesday night, he said.