A killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando jumped out of its tank on Wednesday and fatally attacked a worker as horrified visitors looked on.
The 40-year-old woman was in the whale holding area when the whale suddenly jumped from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waist and "thrashed her all around" to the point the trainer's shoe fell off, Victoria Biniak, a guest at the park, told the local WKMG-TV.
"He was thrashing her around pretty good," Miss Biniak said. "It was violent."
Miss Biniak said the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca, named Tilikum, or Telly for short, does not typically have a trainer in its tank because it is too large.
Paramedics rushed to the Shamu Stadium at the theme park resort in Florida, but they were not able to revive the worker, said John Mulhall, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Department.
The guests were evacuated and the park was closed.
Dan Brown, president of SeaWorld Orlando, said officials were investigating what appeared to be an accident. Mr Brown says SeaWorld has never experienced an incident like this.
But there have been several previous attacks on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.
In Nov 2006, Kenneth Peters, 39, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound (3,175-kilogram) killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot.
In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him, but the man was able to escape.
In December, a whale drowned a trainer at a Spanish zoo.
本周三，美国奥兰多海洋世界的一头虎鲸突然从水池中跳出，将一名驯鲸员咬伤致死，让现场围观的游客惊恐不已。
当天在海洋世界游玩的游客维多利亚•比尼阿克告诉当地电视台WKMG-TV说，当时，那名40岁的女驯鲸员正在鲸鱼池旁，此时这头鲸鱼突然从水中跃出，一口咬住她的腰，然后“将她在空中猛甩”，她的一只鞋都被甩掉了。
比尼阿克小姐说：“鲸鱼非常猛地将驯鲸员在空中甩动，场面非常恐怖。”
据比尼亚克介绍，这头名为蒂利克姆（简称“特利”）的雄虎鲸今年30岁、体重达1.23万磅，由于体积太大，它其实并没有专门的驯良员。
橘子郡消防急救中心的发言人约翰•马尔霍尔称，当医疗人员赶到这家佛罗里达州主题公园的沙姆表演馆时，驯鲸员已停止呼吸。
随后海洋世界被紧急关闭，游客也被疏散。
奥兰多海洋世界的总裁丹•布朗称，有关方面正对这起意外事故展开调查。他还称，海洋世界从未发生过这样的惨剧。
但此前，各地的海洋世界已发生过多起鲸鱼袭击驯鲸员的事件。
2006年11月，39岁的驯鲸员肯尼斯•彼得斯在表演中被一头体重达7千磅（合3175公斤）的虎鲸咬伤，并被多次拖入水中。最后他在被咬伤一只脚后侥幸逃脱。
2004年，圣安东尼奥海洋世界的一头鲸鱼试图袭咬一名驯鲸员，但这名驯鲸员最终得以逃脱。
当年12月，西班牙一家动物园的一名驯鲸员被一头鲸鱼拖入水中活活淹死。
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