news

Dreamworld deaths: Father of Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett thanks public for 'outpouring of love'.

The father of Kate Goodchild and Luke Dorsett, who died in the Dreamworld ride disaster, has thanked friends and the public for the outpouring of love and support his family has received.

Ms Goodchild, Mr Dorsett and his partner Roozbeh ‘Roozi’ Araghi were three of the four people who died in the accident on a Thunder River Rapids raft on Tuesday afternoon.

At a press conference in Canberra, Shayne Goodchild was joined by his daughter’s husband, David Turner, who he said had “lost the love of his life and mother of two children in the most tragic of circumstances”.

“Kate’s tragic death has not only devastated Dave, her partner of 15 years, it has also left two beautiful daughters, Ebony and Evie without a mum,” Mr Goodchild said.

“Dave was standing next to the ride holding Evie when this tragic event happened, and Ebony was sitting next to her mum when they were thrown into the water.”

Mr Goodchild has lost his only daughter, his youngest son and his son’s partner, who he said he considered a son.

“Luke and Roozi have been partners for nearly a decade and were truly an inspirational couple to everyone who had the great fortune to have known them,” he said.

“To say this is just not fair doesn’t begin to express our despair. Their loss will be deeply felt, not just amongst our families, but among their friends and work colleagues.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The family had been visiting Queensland from Canberra for a family wedding.

“Only 24 hours earlier the family were on the beach taking Evie into the waves for the very first time,” Mr Goodchild said.

“It is truly devastating that [8-month-old] Evie will never get to know how amazing a mum [Kate] was.”

Mr Goodchild said his family also wanted answers as to how and why the accident happened.

“So many of us like Kate, Luke, Roozi and Cindy have visited Dreamworld and sat smiling and laughing with our loved ones on the same ride as they were sitting on last Tuesday,” he said.

“Like everyone else in Australia we want to know what went wrong. We want to know why our loved ones were taken from us in such horrific circumstances. No-one wants those answers more than we do.”

Mr Goodchild also expressed the family’s condolences to the family of Cindy Low, who also died in the disaster.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cindy’s family, and in particular her son, who was sitting on the ride with his mum,” he said.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.

 

© 2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. Read the ABC Disclaimer here