Watch: Terrifying moment Seaworld killer whale drags trainer underwater

Updated
Watch: Terrifying moment Seaworld killer whale drags trainer underwater
Watch: Terrifying moment Seaworld killer whale drags trainer underwater

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A video that shows a killer whale dragging its trainer around by the foot for a terrifying 15 minutes has been released. Scroll down to see the video

San Diego trainer Ken Peters endured the "attack" carried out by a whale called Kasatka back in 2006.

The video was presented at an Occupational Safety and Health Administration back in September 2011, and has been released as part of an on-going litigation against the theme park by the US Secretary of Labor, who alleges SeaWorld has put dozens of its trainers at risk by exposing them to the animals' unpredictable nature.

According to the Daily Mail, Judge Ken Welsch described the video as "chilling".

The footage shows Kasatka grabbing her trainer's foot, not letting go, and dunking him under water over a 15-minute period.

Mr Peters eventually manages to free himself, and swims to his escape over a safety net.

At the time, head trainer at SeaWorld, Mike Scarpuzzi, tried to play the incident down, saying: "There are times like this. They are killer whales. She did choose to demonstrate her feelings in a way that was unfortunate."

Some reports suggested Kasatka may have been acting up because she could hear her two-year-old calf's cries from another pool.

Author David Kirby has written about the incident in his book Death at SeaWorld.

The incident happened four years before trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by a killer whale called Tilikum at SeaWorld in Orlando in February 2010.

SeaWorld, which attracts more than 12 million visitors to its three locations, came under fire after Ms Brancheau's death, which saw her dragged under water by Tilikum, before being scalped and dismembered.

One former trainer told Mr Kirby that trainers were not always fully aware of the safety issues relating to killer whale work.

He told the Daily Mail: "A lack of detailed information was the norm whenever accidents happened at other parks. I remember one incident when all of us were pulled from water work for a short time. To this day, I don't know what happened."

A federal ruling now keeps trainers out of the water with killer whales, and SeaWorld has an emergency procedure should someone fall in to the water.

See the footage below:



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