Emergency training still not offered

DREAMWORLD has not introduced drills or emergency simulations in almost two years since the tragedy on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, a senior ride operator told an inquest.

Ride operator Tim Williams, who has worked at Dreamworld since 2013, said since the disaster the park still had not put staff through drills or simulations.

“There has been talk and plans of doing it but not as yet as far as I am aware of it,” Mr Williams told the inquest.

His comments come after Dreamworld staff raised concerns about safety training to the Bulletin last Saturday.

Their fears included not receiving formalised critical response training and training about how to get guests off rides in the event of a breakdown or incident, and inexperienced staff appointed to safety roles.

A number of staff yesterday told the inquest into the deaths of four tourists on October 25, 2016, that they never received emergency situation training.

Peter Nemeth, Courtney Williams and Chloe Brix, who also worked on the Thunder River Rapids Ride that day, said they had not been put through drills or emergency simulations.

The ride operators all said they had never been trained in first aid or CPR.

The horrific incident occurred after a pump stopped working on the Thunder River Rapids Ride, the water levels dropped and a raft got stuck on a conveyor.

That boat was hit by a raft carrying Kate Goodchild, her daughter Ebony, 12, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi, Cindy Low and her son, Kieran, 10. Their raft flipped. Two adults were trapped and the other two adults fell out.

Both children remained on the raft until the conveyor stopped and escaped uninjured.

Tim Williams, 27, was operating the ride the morning of the disaster before moving to the Giant Drop in the afternoon, told the inquest he noticed problems when he was starting the ride.

Mr Williams said he noticed the power meter on the south pump was giving unusual readings when he started the ride for the day.

“The north pump was normal but the south pump was sitting about 490 amps and was fluctuating,” he said in a statement.

“That is not normal based on my experience with this ride.”

Mr Williams told the inquest he called engineers to report the problem.

When an electrician arrived, the south pump power reading had dropped back to normal levels.

Mr Williams said he was told to give the engineers a call again if there was an issue later in the day.

The ride operator was in charge of the ride when the south pump went offline that morning.

The pump failed two times previously that day.

Mr Williams said he was aware there was a risk of rafts tipping if they collided in deeper water but was not aware of a tipping risk near the conveyor belt.

The 27-year-old also said it was common for operators not to report abot first aid kits.

“Across the park, it is very common that the kit is not stocked,” he told police in a statement.

“Operators have stopped reporting to supervisors about the kits on a daily basis because it does not prevent the ride from opening.”

Mr Williams told the inquest that was often because the kits did not have the required number of items, including having eight band aids instead of 10.

His colleague Ms Brix repeated other operators’ comments the ride was one of the most stressful in the park to operate.

Counsel assisting the coroner Rhiannon Helsen asked if she had ever raised concerns if two operators were sufficient for the ride.

“You get used to it and you just kind of make do,” she said.

“You just had to get used to it and keep going and not get overwhelmed by the number of guests,” she said.

Ms Brix has been a ride operator since 2013 and regularly worked on the Thunder River Rapids Ride after receiving her training in 2015.

Ms Brix will continue to give evidence this morning.

More Dreamworld employees will take the stand today.