Malfunction At Dreamworld Theme Park In Australia Kills 4 On Water Ride

Four people were killed at Australia's Dreamworld theme park after riding a water rapids attraction on Tuesday, Australian outlet ABC reports.

The four guests, a 42-year-old woman, a 38-year-old man, a 35-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, were riding the Thunder River Rapids ride when two were thrown off and two became "caught" inside the ride, said Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Gavin Fuller. He added that the four riders "sustained injuries that were incompatible with living."

Reports suggest that the two people trapped under the ride were caught in the conveyor belt that transports the rafts. Police have not confirmed whether the four riders were related to each other.

The ride is described on Dreamworld's website as family friendly, and features a trip down a river filled with artificial rapids.

Park attendee Lia Capes said that she was just about to enter the ride when people began running from it and screaming.

"We saw [a] little girl and we believe it was her mum because it was just her and her little sister that was an infant," she said. "I was speaking to one of the guys and he said it was the raft or the boat thing in front of him, the whole thing flipped and everyone was screaming."

"The little girl that was crying, they asked us to take her because we distracted her, she was bawling her eyes out," Capes added. "[Then] people that worked here took her and her little sister away."

Dreamworld has been closed "until further notice," and police are currently investigating the incident.

This article first appeared on Womanista.com