AUDIO: 911 Call In Whale Trainer's Death Released
Mar. 4 2010, Published 9:57 a.m. ET
RadarOnline.com has been following the tragic death of Florida SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, and on Thursday we received the 911 call that was made moments after Tilikum, a 12,000-pound killer whale, dragged Brancheau and held her underwater, where she drowned.
The first call was made by an unidentified woman who wasn't aware of the magnitude of what had happened, but sensed trouble.
"They are at Shamu Stadium. We actually have a trainer in the water with one of our whales," the 911 caller told the operator. "The whale that they're not supposed to be in the water with -- so we don't know what's going on. We were just told to call and have people here on standby when they get the person out."
The operator said: "You don't know if the person was injured or they're having a medical problem?"
"No idea," the caller responded. "I don't even think they're out of the water yet, they're still in there with the whale."
Asked the operator: "OK. But someone is on scene and they are getting them out of the water now?"
"There are people working on it, yes," the caller responded. "There's about two to three dozen people over there right now."
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The caller contacted 911 two additional times after the initial contact, once to report that park officials had begun using a device called the AED (automated external defibrillator) and a second to confirm that emergency vehicles should enter the theme park via Gate 3.
Brancheau, a 40-year-old Indiana native, was married with no kids. More than 1,200 people showed up to her funeral in Illinois earlier this week.