The Dreamworld theme park, in the Australian state of Queensland, is to reopen on Friday, three days after an accident on a ride killed four people.<\/p>\n
The Gold Coast park said it hoped the reopening would begin the “healing process” and that all entry proceeds would go to the Australian Red Cross.<\/p>\n
A sister and brother, and the brother’s partner, were among the dead.<\/p>\n
The four died when their raft on the Thunder River Rapids ride collided with another raft and flipped over.<\/p>\n
In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the park said it would host a “Memorial Day” on Friday, with doors opening at 11:00 (01:00 GMT).<\/p>\n
It said: “We hope this will be considered the start of the healing process for all concerned.<\/p>\n
“From the Memorial Day, activities will be limited to smaller rides, animal attractions, and the water park.”<\/p>\n
All entry proceeds will go to the Red Cross, which has been helping the affected families.<\/p>\n
The owner of the park, Ardent Leisure Group, also revealed that the ride in question had completed its annual safety inspection, carried out by a “specialist external engineering firm”, on 29 September.<\/p>\n
The victims have been named as Kate Goodchild, 32, her brother Luke Dorsett, 35, Mr Dorsett’s partner, Roozbeh Araghi, 38, and Cindy Low, a 42-year-old New Zealand citizen who lived in Sydney.<\/p>\n
A 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, who media say were related to the victims, were also on the raft. They were thrown free and survived.<\/p>\n
Queensland assistant police commissioner Brian Codd said it was “almost a miracle that anybody came out of that”, adding: “If we’re going to be thankful for anything, I’m thankful for that.”<\/p>\n
Visitors have been laying floral tributes to the victims at the gates of the park, some 50km (30 miles) south of Brisbane.<\/p>\n