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Rex Martinich
A widow has gasped as an operations manager testified he was unaware of multiple alleged safety standard breaches at a zipline where her husband fell to his death.
Dean Anson Sanderson died after falling up to 25 metres through a rainforest canopy from the zipline in far north Queensland on October 22, 2019.
His wife Shannon Sanderson also fell from the zipline at Cape Tribulation, 140 kilometres north of Cairns, and was seriously injured.
She sat in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday taking notes, gasping and murmuring at times after Coroner Wayne Pennell resumed inquest hearings.
Leigh Gallon, a former Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours operations manager, testified by video link that he was unaware of specific Australian standards around ziplines.
He agreed he must have known such legislation existed after the business was told of changes to amusement ride rules following the 2016 death of four people at Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld.
“Did you understand that you had to comply with legislation?” Workplace Health and Safety barrister Jesika Franco asked Gallon.
“I don’t believe it was stressed,” Gallon said.
“Because of the remoteness and we never saw anyone, we were given individuals, certain resources we would go to but there was no reminder of regulatory requirements.”
Sanderson, a 50-year-old mine project manager and father-of-three from Adelaide took the tandem zipride tour with his wife during a “bucklet list” holiday.
Gallon agreed he had been responsible for safety at Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours before he quit in 2019.
He left before the fatal incident, a different court heard.
Gallon told the inquest said he was not aware the company was allegedly in breach of requirements that staff maintaining ziplines held certain qualifications.
On July 10, 2017, Gallon exchanged emails about the qualifications required for zipline inspections, the coroner heard.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll be fine without it,” former Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours managing director Sheena Mary Walshaw told Gallon in the emails.
The Sandersons fell because of a “total failure” of wire rope grips that secured the zipline end points by looping and bracketing the cable to itself, the coroner previously heard.
Gallon said he was aware of requirements to use a torque wrench to tighten nuts and bolts on the end points.
But it was not used.
“We had a torque wrench on site … the torque wrench wasn’t working correctly,” the former operations manager said.
Gallon said he was not familiar with a company document instructing staff to tighten bolts with their fingers during monthly inspections and he thought they were doing it with a spanner.
Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours was run by a company called Keydane that stopped operating on the day of the incident and is no longer registered.
The hearings are due to conclude on Tuesday with family statements.
AAP
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