UPDATE 2.26.10: SeaWorld Orlando's website has only updated on the show schedule page to say that the Believe shows at Shamu Stadium will resume again tomorrow, February 27. The Dine with Shamu experience, which enables guests to have lunch while observing the whales and was the scene of the horrifying incident, has been suspended until further notice.
Park authorities say the killer whale, Tillikum, will not be transferred, released or destroyed but whether he will perform is still not certain.
UPDATE: 5:26pm EST: A Twitterer in the audience, SapphicKitty, snapped a couple of Twitpics just before the show and Tweeted, "The killer whales are have a "moment" They don't feel like performing right now...." Later, the Twitterer found out it was because of all the action that happened just before the show started. Sad.
UPDATE 4:10pm EST: It has been confirmed that a trainer was attacked by a whale at the start of the show. Alarms went off and the stadium was evacuated. The park is still open but the whale stadium is closed.
However, it looks like the whale, Tillikum, has a history of doing this as he was the reason a trainer drowned in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia. Another man was found dead laying on Tillikum's back in 1999 at SeaWorld. The man had snuck into the park and was later believe to have drowned but Tillikum had torn his shorts and bit him as well.
It's a tragic day for SeaWorld to lose one of its trainers doing the job they loved. But also, animals in captivity: still not a good idea.
Original Story: What is usually a happy place turned nightmarish today when a person was reported dead at Shamu Stadium inside SeaWorld Orlando.
Details are scant right now but the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Orange County Fire Rescue officials were called to the theme park at 2pm today in response to a report of a person not breathing.
WKMG Local 6 reports that witnesses said a trainer was "killed during an incident with a whale during a show" but nothing has been confirmed by park officials. There is only one show held during the day at Shamu Stadium and that is the Believe show which starts at 12:30pm.
As of now, parts of the park are closed and we'll be updating this story as we get them.
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