Harold

Well by the looks of things, you'll end up deceased. I'm not defending the ride or whatever. Just saying that 'falling through' doesn't look likely for better or worse. At some point they've removed those slats. Parkz ran an article that suggests the slats were much closer together in 1993. I suppose I'd rather stay on top of the belt rather than wind up in the middle of it, but even with 3 times the number of slats, or the same slat spacing that wonderland had, or whatever slat spacing you like, being pushed onto the slats whilst the belt runs by a boat that size is vey likely going to cause critical injuries. Of more interest to me is why the underwater platform (on which the other boat sits in the photographs) is more than a foot from the return pulley It would not surprise me if they had reduced the number of slats to improve access to the internals of the belt mechanism. Like, maybe shit was getting stuck in there on a regular basis and they concluded that it was much quicker to get it out with 75cm spacing v 25 cm spacing. It's possible that they concluded that the boat went up the hill just as well on 75cm spaced slats as it did on 25 cm spaced slats.

You're not 'falling through' if for no other reason than there is a solid mesh sheet under the slats and belt in the relevant area. Can't find a decent photo right now but it stops between the 4th and 5th slat counting from the upturned boat,

Never suggested (or even implied) that it was sinister. Just don't think you have a right to privacy in that situation.

The sort of event that attracts completely unconnected people to show up with flowers so they can have their own private grieving moment (don't know why you need to go there for that, but whatever) is the same kind of event that the media is interested in, for obvious reasons. I think the media is filling the role of the villain before we know who the real villain is (if anyone).

Poster meant "shut up" as in "cease communicating", not "close the park"

They're saying that the forward boat was stuck because a water pump failed, lowering the water level to a point at which the boat got caught on something. For people advocating for more secure restraints - have a look at the pics of the boat after it was removed. Two of the seats have been completely shredded. I'd say that stronger restraints would have resulted in more deaths here, not less.

Does the operator seen at 4:40 have control of the belt (or anything else) or is he just there in an advisory capacity?

I am a layperson but you'd think that any system that has the torque to drag 6 adults and the boat up the hill would have the torque to flip the same boat if it jammed against something (i.e another boat).

You want to be wary about what union officials say at times like these. Their duty is to the members, and naturally they are inclined to get on the front foot and direct blame towards management. Not suggesting that they are lying or wrong, but they aren't impartial observers by any means. You can apply the same to management, ride vendors, or contracted maintenance people. They all have a dog in the hunt at times like these and have an incentive to steer the narrative so they look the 'least worst'.

Public displays of grief on boards like this are for the personal benefit of the griever, not the victims or their families. Nothing particularly wrong with that, but that's what it is.

I don't want to be locked in with a harness to a ride that basically freely travels down a river. If the boat turned over (or any number of other things that could cause you to want to escape happened) you're in a world of strife.

http://imgur.com/a/fnOUt

Someone on reddit said that his friend works at DW and that there is a belief that the rope that circles the upper part of the rubber came off and got caught in the belt. Some of the photos suggest that the rope has come off so maybe? https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/599i7f/at_least_four_people_killed_in_horror_dreamworld/d96soha/

So it is gravity (or a current?) that pushes the boats around to what I recall is the loading station? Seems like a strange spot for the front car to stop and move in the wrong direction?

Some helpful photos in this article https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2043356/dreamworld-thunder-river-rapids-ride-crash-kills-four-car-capsizes-conveyor-belt-australia/ Is that (the part where the boat is perpendicular to the belt) the point at which the belt terminates and loops back aound? http://imgur.com/a/4niPm