How many people were involved in the thredbo landslide?

Question

how many died and how many survided

Answer 1

The Hon. M. R. EGAN (Treasurer, Minister for Energy, Minister for State and Regional Development, Minister Assisting the Premier, and Vice-President of the Executive Council) [12.32 p.m.]: I move:

(1) That this House expresses its profound sorrow at the tragic loss of lives and injury to persons in the landslide at Thredbo Village on 30 July 1997.

(2) That this House conveys its heartfelt sympathy to the relatives of those who lost their lives and those who suffered injury in the landslide.

(3) That this House commends the dedication and efforts of the support and rescue services in their response to the tragedy.

The Hon. R. T. M. BULL (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [12.33 p.m.]: I should like to associate the Opposition with the motion moved by the Treasurer and to extend the sincere sympathy of Opposition members to the families of those who lost their lives in this most unfortunate tragedy. Most honourable members would have become aware of this disaster when they awoke on the morning following the tragedy. When I turned on the 6 o’clock news I heard broken reports that a major disaster had occurred at Thredbo and that a number of people were trapped.

There was a long delay before we finally knew the fate of those who were trapped. We all shared the grief of their families as they awaited news of the fate of their loved ones. Fortunately, the rescue effort was professionally carried out and was not expedited because of the urgings of some sections of the media, which wanted the whole thing over in 24 hours. As we all know, Stuart Diver survived this unfortunate incident because of the professionalism and outstanding work of the rescuers. Those rescuers

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came from all over New South Wales; they represented small country villages and towns, metropolitan areas and local rescue volunteer services.

I take this opportunity, first, to convey our sincere sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives; secondly, to congratulate those many people who came forward to assist - the outstanding professional effort of the rescue and volunteer services who were at the accident scene for a week to finalise the rescue effort; and thirdly, to note that this accident should not have happened, having regard to planning processes that were in place at the time. I hope that those who visit the snowfields in the future will have the confidence that planning processes will prevent such a tragedy from happening in the future.

The Hon. PATRICIA FORSYTHE [12.35 p.m.]: I too support the motion. The news at the end of July that a landslip had occurred at Thredbo was greeted in my household with disbelief and shock, as it undoubtedly was in households across Australia. Thredbo is very dear to my family. We have spent more family holidays there than anywhere else. Indeed, three weeks prior to the landslip my husband, son and I had spent a few days there, and my daughter had been there one week earlier. The initial disbelief and shock deepened as we realised the number of people who were perhaps buried under the landslide and as pictures from Thredbo emerged on television that morning. For our family the news later in the week that one of the missing, later confirmed dead, was a person with whom my husband had considered entering into a business venture in Thredbo a few years ago made it all the more real and personal to us as a family.

In the days following I also discovered that a close friend had been staying in one of the adjoining lodges. That person, a senior ski instructor at Thredbo, is to this day experiencing shock. I have been able to share with him the feelings of many of the people in Thredbo and to speak to many others whom we have come to know in the years we have holidayed, including permanent residents, managers of the lodge that we regularly use, and people who run businesses in Thredbo. For all of us that sense of shock and disbelief soon passes, but it has not passed in Thredbo. Perhaps when the snow melts, the season is ended and they can reflect on this winter, they will commence the true process of recovery. When we were at Thredbo three weeks earlier, the community there was looking forward to celebrating 40 years as a snow resort. It has not been a very happy 40-year celebration.

Along with my colleagues, I acknowledge the work of all those who were involved in the rescue efforts. We sat in awe watching the rescue of Stuart Diver on the Saturday. I, for one, found it difficult to leave the television, although I had official duties to perform during the day. The rescue stopped all Australia, and we must acknowledge the enormous dedication, work and the professionalism of all those who were involved, both volunteers and trained personnel. Volunteers and professionals came together as a team of which we can be proud. The work and efforts of volunteers in Australia are often overlooked. I was immensely proud of the way in which they came together, as Australians always do in such tragedies. In conclusion, I send a message of condolence to the families of all those who died and I acknowledge all those in Thredbo who are suffering from the grief and shock that comes with being associated with such a tragedy.

Reverend the Hon. F. J. NILE [12.39 p.m.]: The Christian Democratic Party supports the motion and expresses its sincere sympathy to the families who lost loved ones in the tragic landslide at Thredbo. As happens in tragic situations, everyone has expressed the sentiments, "If they had been somewhere else", or, "If the situation were different they would not have been in that particular lodge at that time." Those sorts of comments are always made. On a positive note, we thank every member of the rescue services - the Police Service, the State Emergency Service, the fire brigades, bush fire services - and the hundreds of volunteers who took part in the rescue operation. In many ways, because of the nature of the landslide, there was almost no hope of finding any survivors underneath the heavy concrete slabs. The miraculous salvation of Stuart Diver was a great shock and a great joy. His rescue was totally unexpected as so much time had elapsed, but reminded us that all our lives are in the hands of God. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. We give thanks to all who helped save Stuart Diver’s life.

The PRESIDENT: I take the opportunity to be associated with this motion of condolence. This was a great tragedy that befell our community, not only in terms of loss of life and injuries caused to so many people, but, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said, in hindsight it is a tragedy that could perhaps have been avoided. Such tragedies are always a matter of deep shock to a community, particularly to the families of people who, without any notice, lose their lives or suffer serious injury. It is proper that this House should convey its sympathy to the relatives of those who died and to those who sustained injury, and to convey also its commendation to all of those involved in a massive and extremely dedicated rescue operation. I invite honourable members to signify their support of this

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motion by standing in their places and observing a minute’s silence in memory of those who died in the tragedy.

Members and officers of the House stood in their places.

Motion agreed to.

Answer 2

That guy just copied and pasted it all.17 people died in total.

The list of deaths are as follow;

John Anthony Cameron

Barry Achim Decker

Sally Sophie Diver

Dianne Lee Hoffman

Werner Jecklin

Oskar Waler Luhn

Andrew Stuart McArthur

Stephen Thomas Moss

Wendy Anne O'Donohue

Mary Frances Phillips

Aino Valgmae Senbruns

Mariam Alice Sodergren

Michael Lee Sodergren

Steven Urosovic

Colin John Warren

David Glenn Watson

Anthony John Weaver

follow this link to find out more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Thredb...