An Australian theme park operator has been fined $2.5 million after an incident that left four people dead.
The accident that led to the deaths of two women and two men occurred on a river rapids ride at the theme park Dreamworld, according to Reuters. The four people died almost instantly back in 2016 after two rafts collided on a ride and flipped onto a mechanical ramp.
Dreamworld has been handed the biggest workplace health and safety fine in Queensland history.
It follows the deaths of four people on the Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016.
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“Ardent accepts responsibility for this tragedy without qualification or reservation,” the firm’s chairman Gary Weiss and its Theme Parks chief executive John Osborne said in a joint statement, according to Reuters. “We sincerely hope the finalisation of the prosecution will go some way towards furthering the healing process.” (RELATED: Theme Parks Ban Yelling On Roller Coasters: ‘Please Yell Inside Your Hearts’)
A coroner had previously determined that Ardent Leisure Group had dismissed warnings and failed to complete adequate safety checks on the ride at the park, the outlet reported. The group has already paid out over 20 compensations stemming from the incident, according to Reuters.
Back in 2018 detectives told a court during an inquest that the ride could have been stopped within two seconds if the ride operator had pressed an emergency button. The young woman who was manning the theme park ride at the time claimed she did not know what the switch did, according to ABC News.