Dreamworld tiger attacks woman in Gold Coast theme park
- Woman attacked by tiger at Dreamworld
- Female handler was walking the animal when it attacked
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A woman has been rushed to hospital after being mauled by a tiger at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.
The tiger attacked the 47-year-old handler at about 9am on Monday, leaving her with several deep cuts and scratches.
Queensland Ambulance said the woman was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital with ‘multiple deep lacerations’.
It’s understood the woman, who is an experienced and senior handler at the theme park, had been walking the animal with another handler when it attacked.
QAS acting district director Justin Payne said the 47-year-old was in a stable condition, but the biggest risk was her wounds becoming infected.
‘She was quite pale and feeling unwell, but generally well and was able to be transported to hospital,’ he said.
‘Thankfully, on (the paramedics’) arrival, the bleeding had been managed very well by first aid providers there at Dreamworld, which was excellent to see.’
In addition to being a theme park, Dreamworld is home to more than to nine Sumatran and Bengal tigers.
A woman has been rushed to hospital after being attacked by a tiger at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast (pictured, a woman feeds a tiger at the Queensland theme park)
The popular park offers viewing areas on ‘Tiger Island’ where people can get ‘so close you could feel the breath of a tiger’.
Visitors over the age of 13 can also choose to tong feed the tigers or watch them ‘jump, climb and swim’ during daily presentations.
The incident comes after a malfunction of the Thunder River Rapids Ride at the theme park resulted in the deaths of four people in September 2016.
The female handler sustained several deep cuts and scratches during the incident at the park
Cindy Low, Luke Dorsett, Roozi Araghi and Kate Goodchild all died when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn.
Kieran Low, who was 10 at the time, was on the ride when his mother was killed but miraculously only suffered minor injuries.
Dreamworld parent company Ardent Leisure was fined $3.6million in 2020 after pleading guilty in a Brisbane court to breaching the Work Health and Safety Act.
As of 2020, Ardent Leisure had reportedly paid more than $5million in compensation claims to family members of the victims, witnesses and emergency responders.
Cindy Low, Luke Dorsett, Roozi Araghi and Kate Goodchild all died when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn (pictured, emergency crews at the scene in 2016)