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Sunday, February 23rd, 2020, in Queensland Australia, a coroner has released his findings for the deaths of 4 people on October 25, 2016 at the Dreamworld Amusement Park.

The deaths happened on the Thunder River Rapids ride after a water pump malfunctioned, but the coroner believes that “a culpable culture” with “poor staff training and piecemeal engineering modifications without risk assessment” lead to the deaths of the 4.

“Such a culpable culture can only exist when leadership from the board down are careless in terms of safety,” The Coroner, McDougall said.

In the previous seven days before the incident the ride had broken down 5 times.

“[A fatal accident] was simply a matter of time. [Multiple safety issues] posed a risk and would have been easily identifiable to a competent person, had one ever been commissioned to conduct risk or hazard assessments of the ride.” McDougall added.

Family members of the decreased gave their own statements.

“The thought that Cindy would not experience all that life had in store for her was harder for us than the thought we might not see her again,” Low’s husband, Matthew, told.

“Our heart aches daily as we try with varying success to be grateful for the decades we had. She had the heart of a tiger, fierce and protective.”

The mother of 2 victims, Kim Dorsett, had this to say . “The easier part was burying them, the harrowing part is living without them,” she said.

“We exist in a world full of grief and shattered family and friends; three mothers who have lost their children living with broken hearts and souls, and let us not forget those four beautiful children who will now grow up without a mum, and that is what this is really about.”

Ardent Leisure, the parks operator, expressed “deepest sympathies” to the families of the victims.

He added in his statement “ride safety and reliability, training of ride operators, emergency management procedures, safety management systems and safety governance”.

“These significant changes which we continue to drive at Dreamworld have been acknowledged by the coroner in his report,”.

Photo Credit – Wikipedia . Original Article – The Guardian

Wednesday, December 25th, 2019, in Southern Spain, a father, his daughter, and another family member all drowned from a potential malfunction with a draining mechanism in a swimming pool at the Club La Costa World Resort.

Originally the daughter, age 9, became trapped in the pool and her father jumped in after her but he became trapped too. Finally another family member, age 16, attempted to help them. In the end all three drowned, said Jorge Martin, a spokesman for the province where the incident happened.

“The question about why the girl, the father and the third member of the family had problems to get out of the swimming pool is being investigated,” he said, adding that officers were also awaiting autopsy results.

Club La Costa World claimed Late Wednesday that investigators have already concluded that the Pool’s system had no problems, but Investigators are still looking into exactly what happened with the pool.

Workers at the scene stated they had difficulties even retrieving the bodies and it felt “like swimming in a wild river” Which does lead to believe there was some sorta of issue with the pools suction or drainage system. More will be known when the authorities have completed their investigations about the incident.

Photo Credit – Daniel Perez/EPA, via Shutterstock . Original Article – Yahoo and Club La Costa World resort in Fuengirola, Spain. (Google)

Monday, October 21th, 2019, in Santa Monica, a student at a Santa Monica High School suffered debilitating lung injuries according to a lawsuit

The student claims during a team swimming and water polo meet they were exposed to high levels of chlorine gas from a degrading pool system. Originally the school claimed it was due to natural gas exposure from a unrelated incident in Porter Ranch, California. Upon inspect though the school agreed with the exposure to chlorine gas.

According to the the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) a total of 11 students required medial attention of respiratory related problems. At least one student is claiming they now suffering from long term chlorine related exposure that is due to the schools lack of oversight and maintenance to their pool system.

“The SMMUSD superintendent and Samohi principal met with families following the Samohi pool incident last month. We have been in communication with the families and we are working with them regarding medical claims stemming from this incident. We regret that this occurred, and have remedied the cause of the chlorine leak to prevent this from happening again. The health and safety of our students and staff are our top priorities. As for this claim, we do not comment on pending litigation,” said Gail Pinsker Community & Public Relations Officer for SMMUSD.

Carey Upton, SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer was quoted “While restarting the boiler after a broken gas line, chlorine gas was expelled into the pool when the Boys’ Water Polo team was in the water. The students had a range of respiratory symptoms, including burning sensation in the nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing,” Upton wrote in an August 23 letter to Samohi staff and family. “We will be installing a new device on the pool system that will prevent this from happening again. We will also change the operations and maintenance protocols to not service the pool while people are present and alter process to keep this from happening again.”

Photo Credit – The Santa Monica High School swimming pool SMMUSD. Original Article – SMMIRROR

On Monday, July 29th, 2019, in Northeast China, 44 people were injured when the Shuyiyun Water Park’s wave pool generator malfunctioned.

When the incident was first reported the water park stated “It was caused by a mechanical fault. Only around 10 people were injured.” However that number was quickly raised to 44 from officials reporting the injured going to local hospitals by Ebaums World

Waves in pools are created by utilizing large fans or blowers to push air into the water and generate larger and larger waves depending on the amount of air used. When these waves are too large it can injure people as they are moved too quickly by the waves resulting in a variety of injuries and even death.

There were also rumors spreading around that the mechanic in charge of the wave generator was under the influence of something but local government officials quickly shot down that story with the following statement. “a power cut that damaged electronic equipment in the tsunami pool control room, which led to the waves in the tsunami pool becoming too big and injuring people,” from the South China Morning Postreports.

While these incidents are very rare when they do happen they tend to cause massive amounts of injuries. This is due to the power of the waves moving people and turning them into projectiles that can injure others or themselves.

“Online rumors say that a worker wrongly operated the controls, but in reality, it was a problem with the equipment,” an employee was quoted saying.

“The park closed for a day for repairs, but the investigation is over and the park will open as usual tomorrow.”

Photo Credit – twitter user 1984to1776 – popculture

On Sunday, July 14th, 2019, in Citrus Heights, California, a 9 year old girl passed away in a tragic electric shock incident while swimming in her family’s outdoor pool.

The victim, McKenzie Kinley, was swimming at her father’s place in Citrus Heights. She was then electrocuted by an exposed wire from one of his underwater pool lights still under repair, reported from Sacramento KCRA

First responders quickly tried to resuscitate the unresponsive 9 year old, but unfortunately could not, her father, Cliff Kinley, told CBS Sacramento.

Electric shock drownings mainly happen around docks and marinas, but can happen in pools and other aquatic related entertainment venues. Normally it happens when nearby boats with poor wiring send electricity into the water harming unsuspecting swimmers.

Even a mild shock that would not kill you, can temporarily paralyze your muscles. Quickly causing you to sink and ultimately drowning before anyone realizes the danger.

The ESDPA states if you think someone is suffering from an electric shock in the water, do not try to help by swimming to them, as you could be electrocuted too. Instead find a life buoy to throw to them, or move them with a non-conductive pole.

Every year multiple people drown from electric shock incidents just like McKenzie’s. If you feel any sort of “tingly” feeling while swimming, get out immediately. Look and remove any sort of electric device touching the water, or report the feeling to an authority official.

McKenzie’s Family wants to speak out and educate others on the dangers of electric shock drowning. “You never think this is going to happen, It’s so tragic. She shouldn’t have been taken from us so soon.” Said family friend Janie Perduta.

On Sunday, June 4th, 2019, the Universal Studios Volcano Bay was temporarily closed due to what they described as “technical issues” related to the park and guests reporting “electrical shocks” within the ride.

A Universal Spokesperson was quoted as saying “Yesterday we had some technical issues at Volcano Bay. As a result, we closed the park early while we worked to resolve this issue. Out of an abundance of caution, a small number of our team members were transported to the hospital and all were released and fine last night. We are back to regular park operation today.”

People at the park complained about feeling as if their feet where being zapped according to the Orlando Sentinel, but Universal would not give anymore information on the incident, but a lifeguard working for the park claimed to know the cause of the incident.

The lifeguard, who’s name was not released, stated it was believed at the Krakatau Aqua Coaster had a wiring short / issue going on
related to some type of Aquatic Construction Defects . She even complained that her and other staff members had their legs begin to go numb from a zapping sensation.

The Krakatau ride is considered the main attraction of the Volcano Bay water park with a 200-foot volcano (61 meters). The park originally was Wet n’ Wild and replaced in May 25, 2017 with the opening of the Krakatau ride and many other smaller water rides.

Sarah Carlino, from Boston, said that when they complained to a female manager they “didn’t believe what we were saying.” They complained that while they walked around Volcano Bay on 11am Sunday they felt their feet being “zapped” constantly. They did eventually decide to close the Lazy River near the Aqua Coaster for around 10 Minutes.

When asked for a comment from USA TODAY, Universal studios did not immediately respond and clarify what the source of the problem was exactly.

(images courtesy of visitorlando.com and orlandosentinel.com)

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