
Two young girls, aged 10 and 13, were miraculously thrown to safety from the doomed Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on Australia's Gold Coast and watched in horror as the four adults in their raft were killed.

A malfunction with the ride's conveyor belt is suspected to have caused the six-person raft to flip, crushing and drowning two men, aged 38 and 35, and two women, aged 42 and 32, about 2.20pm on Tuesday.

Those killed include Canberra woman Kate Goodchild, 32, her brother Luke Dorsett, 35, his partner Roozi Araghi, 38, and another woman.

The New Zealand Herald has named Cindy Low, 42, from Kawerau, as the fourth victim. She was believed to be holidaying in Queensland at the time.

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Two men, aged 38 and 35, and two women, aged 42 and 32, died at the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on Australia's Gold Coast following a catastrophic accident

Emergency services were called shortly after 2pm on Tuesday after one of the ride's raft is understood to have flipped. Police investigators can be seen examining the site

Victims: Luke Dorsett, 35, is pictured left and his partner Roozi Araghi, 38, is pictured right. Both died on the ride

Mother Kate Dorsett is pictured (left, right). She leaves behind a husband, daughter, and newborn baby girl

One of the children thrown to safety from the raft was Ms Goodchild's daughter. She howled in horror as she watched her mother die, according to News Corp.

Top police officials said it was 'almost a miracle that anybody came out of that', saying they may have escaped through 'the providence of God or somebody'.

Both girls were recovering in hospital on Tuesday night.

The tragedy happened after the raft the six people were riding on turned over and flipped, Assistant Queensland Police Commissioner Brian Codd said.

'(It fell) back on top of those persons and those persons (were) variously caught in machinery.'

The catastrophe was captured on CCTV cameras and the footage would be reviewed as part of the investigation.

The theme park is closed indefinitely.

The mother of the Dorsett siblings, Kim, took to Facebook to express her grief.

'My family have been completely wiped out,' she said.

'I have three children and two of them are now gone.

'My eight-month-old granddaughter is never going to know her mother and that truly breaks my heart.'

Tributes have piled up outside Dreamworld - one of the country's most popular theme parks - with locals laying flowers

The iconic theme park is closed indefinitely while investigators pore over the park in the wake of the disaster

Ms Dorsett's husband, daughter, and newborn baby girl, had to be consoled by paramedics. Families were being informed of the tragedy on Tuesday night.

Radio broadcaster Dom Knight, an old university friend of Mr Araghi, remembered him as a 'passionate, funny, brilliant man with an unquenchable love of retro pop'.

Other friends described Mr Araghi and Mr Dorsett as the 'most loving couple', 'intelligent and witty, filled with life and hope'.

Witnesses to the tragedy said they saw a young girl was wandering alone at the ride's exit calling out for her mum shortly afterwards.

A woman could be seen 'hanging by her foot, crushed from the ride'.

Bystander Claire Wooley said she helped a child she believed was the daughter of one of those killed,Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

Another witness said 'there were kids on board screaming while their mum was like trapped under'.

A malfunction with the ride's conveyer belt was believed to have caused the tragedy, Queensland Ambulance acting supervisor Gavin Fuller told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Two of those that died had been trapped beneath the raft, and two had been trapped underwater in the conveyor belt. The two children were thrown to safety

A birds-eye-view of the scene where four people were killed on Tuesday afternoon

Emergency personnel and investigators are pictured at the Thunder River Rapids ride at Gold Coast's Dreamworld theme park

'One of the rides has sustained some sort of malfunction, causing two people to be ejected, two caught, two males and two females,' the Queensland Ambulance acting superviser said

flume be turned over and flipped, resulting in it falling back on top of those persons and those persons being variously caught in machinery - and I don't want to go into too much graphic detail.

The four adults and two children were in a raft that collided with an empty raft that had become stuck, Courier Mail reported.

Reports suggest their raft flipped, crushing two of the adults. The other two adults were trapped in the conveyor belt underwater.

Visitors to the theme park have claimed the ride had been plagued by mechanical issues earlier in the day.

Lisa Walker said she had tried to board the ride with her daughter Kaylah, 25, and said rafts were piling up against each other, she told The Australian.

'Earlier in the day it had broken down,' the same witness told Sydney Morning Herald.

'It had broken down and we went back a couple of times to this particular ride.

'We were standing on the bridge watching and the water had stopped.

'There was no rapids.'

The accident happened 10 minutes after she and her daughter left the scene, Lisa said.

Families of those killed, including Mr Dorsett (right) and Mr Araghi (left) were being informed of the tragedy on Tuesday night

Another woman told Nine News engineers were called to the ride earlier in the day.

'They drained all the water out and then had to refill it back up, and then we were allowed to go. But, yeah, we were stuck there for about 30-40 minutes at least,' the woman said.

Todd Reid, Inspector Regional Duty Officer, could not confirm reports the ride had been faulty earlier in the day.

'I'm not aware [if that's true], but that will be part of the investigation and that will be one of the aspects we will be looking at,' he said.

The horrific accident happened towards the end of the ride.

Mr Fuller, of Queensland Ambulance, would not elaborate on any of the injuries the four adults suffered.

'They sustained injuries incompatible with life,' he said.

Dreamworld staff had drained water from the ride in an attempt to save the trapped passengers and desperately tried to treat two of those injured before paramedics arrived.

A coroner will investigate and police have established a crime scene. There will also be a workplace health and safety investigation

Emergency services are pictured at the scene on Tuesday afternoon after two men and two women died

Dreamworld staff drained the water from the ride in an attempt to save the trapped passengers (emergency services are pictured at the scene)

The park was evacuated and hundreds of shocked patrons streaming out.

Dreamworld will be closed until further notice.

CEO of the theme park, Craig Davidson, said the team was 'deeply shocked and saddened by this and our hearts and our thoughts go to the families involved and to their loved ones'.

The ride's annual maintenance, conducted by independent workplace health and safety engineers, had been done just three days before the accident, a Dreamworld spokesperson said.

A certification was provided, which Daily Mail Australia has requested a copy of.

People are seen sitting outside of Dreamworld after it was evacuated about 4pm following the accident (pictured)

Witnesses said the accident was horrific and happened as the ride was coming to an end

Specialist forensic and scientific officers, as well as detectives were at the scene on Tuesday evening.

Investigators have been interviewing a number of witnesses at nearby police stations with support services also being offered.

The State Coroner and the Queensland Government's Forensic Pathologist also attended the scene.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Dreamworld owners Ardent Leisure shares fell 7.8 per cent on news of the tragedy.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was 'very saddened to learn of the tragic accident'.

'Theme parks are a place for family fun and happiness, not tragedy. This is a very, very, sad, tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives,' Mr Turnbull said in a statement.

'This is a very sad day, and we trust there will be a thorough investigation into the causes of this accident over the days to follow.'

Dreamworld describes the Thunder River Rapids ride (stock picture) as a moderate family ride

Children over two-years-old are allowed to go on the ride (pictured). If they are under four they must go on the ride with someone above the age of 14

Dreamworld was evacuated and will be closed until further notice

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the news was 'heartbreaking'.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had heard the scene was 'horrific' and said counsellors were being rushed to Dreamworld to calm the 'many, many witnesses'.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said it was a 'very sad day for our city' in a statement.

'Our thoughts are with the families of those affected – and the emergency staff in attendance.'

Shocked US Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz said he had been on the ride just a few minutes before the accident.

RECENT SAFETY INCIDENTS AT DREAMWORLD June 2009: Helicopter crashes into Dreamworld carpark, injuring the pilot and four Taiwanese passengers 2011: Two separate reports of Bengal tiger Kato biting handlers at the Tiger Island attraction - once in May and once in September November 2013: More than 7000 people evacuated from Dreamworld in under an hour after a bushfire came close to the facility April 2016: A passenger on the Rocky Hollow Log Ride nearly drowned after being thrown from the attraction and suffering lacerations to his head Advertisement

'Dude, just got off a ride 15 mins ago that has 1 person seriously injured and 2 others trapped,' he wrote on Twitter.

A similar Dreamworld ride called Rocky Hollow Log Ride was shut down in April for a weekend after a man almost drowned, according to The Courier Mail.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said at the time the man swallowed water after he fell from the ride.

The Thunder River Rapids ride was built in 1986 and is said to be a 'moderate' with a maximum speed of 45km/h, according to Dreamland.

Visitors as young as two-years-old are allowed to go on the ride.

People sit on circular rafts that seat six.

Shocked US Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz said he had been on the ride just a few minutes before the accident

'SOMEONE WILL GET KILLED ONE DAY': HOW A VISITOR FORESAW A TRAGIC ACCIDENT AT DREAMWORLD JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE FOUR PEOPLE DIED AT THE PARK An Australian woman posted a negative review of Dreamworld, including numerous safety concerns, just two weeks before the tragic accident on Tuesday. Tracey Christensen wrote on the Dreamworld Facebook page on October 10: 'So we went to Dreamworld yesterday with the kids, went to go on the tower of terror, almost to the top and we hear.. 'sorry everyone there's an operational issue and we are waiting for maintenance'.. we left that ride real quick. 'Then went on Puss In Boots, maintenance issue. Then went to the Wipeout, 'sorry operational issues'. The kids get off the Claw and said one of their belt buckles came undone right up in the air. 'I told the attendants they didn't listen. I went and told the manager and he said he will call someone to go have a look, yet they continued to let people on the ride and keep operating. 'I went back to the manager and questioned it and he tells me that that belt buckle is an added safety feature dreamworld added to the seats, so if they come undone they are still safe. 'There must have been a reason they added those belt buckles or they wouldn't have bothered, then continues to tell me that the log ride is now broken! Are you freaking kidding me? One visitor to Dreamworld said she counted 'five operational issues' when she visited the park two weeks ago 'I paid $400 to get yearly passes and all I want now is my money back because having 5 rides with operational issues is not good enough. Someone will get seriously injured or killed one day!' However, other reviews on the Facebook page heap praise on the much-loved park. One woman wrote: 'We had a great day On Sunday at the park. There were no overly long queues, and when a staff member on the Tower of Terror 2 made a mistake and couldn't get the ride started, she treated us to a free 2nd ride. Thanks Chloe.:) We love the pizza place for lunch, such a great value meal for a family. All in all it was a great day!' Advertisement