Up date from 60 Minutes Australia 19 8 2012
Video # 1
Video # 1
Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon which left runners suffering horrific burns after a bushfire swept through the race route. Two runners, Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt, suffered burns to more than 60 percent.
Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson so so brave, please help with whatever you can.
Damning findings against fire race organisers
Thu Aug 16 2012
Damning findings have been made against organisers of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon which left runners suffering horrific burns after a bushfire swept through the race route.
Two runners, Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt, suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of their bodies after they were trapped in a gorge by a bushfire as they were running in the 100km race in Western Australia's northernmost region in September.
Michael Hull and Martin Van Der Merwe also received serious burns and required skin grafts.
A parliamentary committee report, released on Thursday, found Hong Kong-based organisers Racing the Planet did not take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of event participants.
Committee chairman Mike Nahan, the member for Riverton, said the company's biggest mistake was not liaising with the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of WA (FESA) when it planned the event.
"The level of communication and consultation with relevant agencies and individuals regarding the event's risk management plan was generally inadequate, both in terms of its timeliness and its approach," Dr Nahan told parliament.
"Specifically, Racing the Planet failed to communicate and consult adequately with the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley - the shire in which the race was held - the WA police force, the Fire and Emergency Services (FESA) and St John's Ambulance service."
Dr Nahan said FESA's Kununurra office would have provided advice that could have led to the route being changed or cancelled.
Ms Sanderson's brother Ian said his demands for an inquiry were fobbed off by WA Health Minister Kim Hames until opposition justice spokeswoman Michelle Roberts intervened and made it happen.
"He was telling me that there were no grounds and no means by which the government could conduct an inquiry," Mr Sanderson told reporters.
"This report proves him utterly wrong."
Dr Hames rejected the claim, but said he "absolutely" believed Racing the Planet should offer financial compensation to the victims, saving them from pursuing it in court.
"They should have known the risks ... if there is anyone to blame in all this it is quite clearly Racing the Planet," he said.
While Premier Colin Barnett earlier this year ruled out state government ex-gratia payments to the victims, Dr Hames said it would be considered.
"There is a case being made by the committee that while it is an international company based in Hong Kong, that it would be very difficult for those who were severely injured to extract money from that company, that the government should consider providing financial support by way of ex-gratia payment," he said.
The WA government had three months to respond to the report and it was up to Attorney-General Michael Mischin if he wanted to act before that deadline, Dr Hames said.
He said one of the most important recommendations of the report was that event organisers be insured in Australia - advice he intended the government to follow.
"Quite clearly, the recommendation of the committee is that the government should require any organisation running an event in Australia to have insurance that is claimable in Australia and sue-able in Australia."
Mr Sanderson said it was "entirely possible" the organisers would make voluntary payments to victims "based on common sense and decency".
Earlier on Thursday, solicitor Greg Walsh, who is acting for Ms Pitt and four others, said a writ against Racing the Planet would be filed in coming days.
"Conservatively, the case would be worth something in excess of $10 million," Mr Walsh told ABC radio.
Ms Pitt spent more than $3 million to have her face, hands and body reconstructed.
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