Video of a 2006 incident in which a killer whale at SeaWorld San Diego twice pulled a trainer underwater has been publicly released.
About a minute after trainer Ken Peters dives into the tank at SeaWorld San Diego, the 5,000 pound killer whale named "Kasatka" takes him down. She clamps onto to his foot and drags him underwater.
Nearly a minute later, Peters surfaces, gasping for breath. He tries to calm the whale by patting her, but she doesn't let go of his foot. Then, the whale takes him under a second time. A camera angle from above shows the whale tossing and turning the trainer.
After about nine minutes in the water, Peters swims out of the whale's reach, past a barrier and crawls onto a platform. He trips on his broken foot as he races to safety.
Lawyers with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) played this video in a Seminole County Courtroom last year to defend a citation they slapped on SeaWorld Orlando.
The citation followed the investigation into the 2010 death of SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau.
In a statement sent to FOX 35, SeaWorld responded to the release of the video saying, "This incident was well documented and thoroughly covered by the news media in 2006. This video clearly shows the trainer's remarkable composure and the skillful execution of an emergency response plan, both of which helped result in a successful outcome with minor injuries. It should be noted that CalOSHA did not issue any citations to SeaWorld as a result of this incident. SeaWorld's trainer returned to work shortly after this incident and remains a member of the team at Shamu Stadium to this day."
