SYDNEY—Two children are fortunate to be alive, police said Wednesday, after they were thrown clear and survived an accident that killed their mothers and two other people on a river rapids ride at a popular theme park in Australia.
Two men and two women died in the accident on Tuesday at the Dreamworld park on Queensland state’s Gold Coast, Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said.
The 30-year-old Thunder River Rapids ride whisks people in circular rafts along a fast-moving, man-made river, with a conveyor belt helping move the rafts through the water. Closed-circuit television footage showed the ride was ending when two rafts collided, Codd said.
Rescue personnel stand by the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Australia, on Oct. 25, 2016. Channel 9 via AP
