Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Australia, Film and TV, Crime
Emily Brown
Viewers of a gripping documentary on Netflix are now begging police to reopen an inquest into the case that left seven people dead.
In 1979, approximately 35 people boarded the Sydney Ghost Train ride at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia.
The ride was a staple at the amusement park, and for more than 40 years had welcomed customers who rode through the dark tunnels and jumped at the haunted-house style surprises along the way.
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On June 9, 1979, some guests at the park began to smell smoke coming from the ride, but believed it was just part of the special effects.
As black clouds began to billow from the interior of the ride, it soon became clear that was not the case.
The fatal incident forms the focus of the 2021 docu-series Exposed: The Ghost Train Fire, which has captivated viewers after arriving on Netflix.
Across three episodes, the series explores the details surrounding the incident, including potential cover-ups and corruption. One New South Wales sergeant even claimed the fire had been 'deliberately lit'.
The exact cause of the fire has never been determined, and after watching the docu-series and the interviews with people familiar with the incident, viewers are urging police to take another look.
"Highly recommend Exposed The Ghost Train Fire on Netflix," one X user wrote after watching the three episodes.
"It is an extraordinary documentary into the [Luna] Park Ghost Train of 1979 in which 7 people died. The inquest needs to be reopened for the families."
Another viewer described the situation as 'heartbreaking', writing: "It's so sad and so shocking what happened."
The calls for a new look at the incident have been ongoing since the series was first released in 2021, with another viewer writing at the time: "Watching EXPOSED: The Ghost Train Fire [...] Justice has been a long time coming to the families of those who lost so much in this tragedy. There MUST be a new inquest and the truth exposed."
Six boys and one man made up those who died in the fire, and in the wake of the incident a coroner's investigation found that a lack of lighting and signs inside the ride would have made it more difficult for riders to evacuate.
Coroner Kevin Anderson determined that Luna Park had failed its duty of care to patrons, however he claimed that the park had not failed drastically enough 'to support a charge of criminal negligence'.
In 2021, when the documentary was first broadcast, the state coroner asked police to review the case, but many details around the tragedy still remain a mystery.