AP Top News at 7:56 a.m. EST

AP Top News at 7:56 a.m. EST

Whale drags trainer off platform in fatal attack

ORLANDO, Fla. — A veteran SeaWorld trainer was leisurely rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her with its mouth and dragged her underwater. Despite workers rushing to help, the trainer was killed. Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers used nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.