Dreamworld will reopen “as normal” on Saturday but the Thunder River Rapids ride will remain closed until the conclusion of the coronial inquiry into Tuesday’s fatal accident, the company’s annual general meeting in Sydney has been told.
Canberrans Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett, his partner, Roozi Araghi, and New Zealander Cindy Low were killed at the theme park on Tuesday afternoon when their raft flipped backwards, throwing them from it. Two children survived the accident.
At the annual general meeting of Dreamworld’s parent company, Ardent Leisure, in Sydney on Thursday, the retiring company chairman, Neil Balnaves, said the company planned to “reopen the theme park as normal on Saturday” but that the river ride would remain closed for as long as the coronial inquest into the accident remained open. He offered no timeframe for its reopening.
Ardent Leisure’s chief executive, Deborah Thomas, told the meeting: “It is under extremely sad circumstances that we gather here. On behalf of all staff and management, I would like to express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of those killed.”
She said the company’s immediate concerns lay with the family and friends of the victims, and with guests and staff. She said the company was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the events.
“I understand the intense interest in this catastrophic event, but I ask for your patience … as we seek to establish the facts.”
