Two young children 'saw parents killed' in Australia theme park ride crash

Two young children who survived the theme park ride crash in Australia reportedly watched helplessly as their mothers were killed.

The moment four people were killed in the horrific accident on the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamland on the Gold Coast of Australia was captured on CCTV.

Police said they are scouring the video to determine exactly happened when one of the ride's rafts flipped, trapping two people between the conveyor belt and drowning another two.

The four killed in the tragedy have been identified as Kate Goodchild, 32, her brother Luke Dorsett, 35, and his partner Roozbeh Argahi, 38, as well as 42-year-old Cindy Low.

The 12-year-old daughter of Ms Goodchild and the 10-year-old son of Ms Low were reportedly thrown from the ride during the capsize and saw their mothers crushed under the raft, 7 News reports.

The two young children were lucky to survive, police said.

The mother of the Dorsett siblings, Kim, expressed her grief on social media.

She wrote: "My family have been completely wiped out. I have three children and two of them are now gone. My eight-month-old granddaughter is never going to know her mother and that truly breaks my heart."

Visitors as young as two years old can ride the Thunder River Rapids, but under-fours must be accompanied by an adult.

The Thunder River Rapids Ride is Australia's only river rapids ride and opened in December 1986.

Dreamworld chief executive Craig Davidson said: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by this and our hearts and thoughts go to the families involved and their loved ones."