Ex-employee: Sea World trainers in danger

NEW YORK, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The former head of safety for Florida's Sea World says park officials aren't doing enough to protect their animal trainers.

Linda Simons told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday she was fired from her job at Sea World during the investigation into trainer Dawn Brancheau's death in Febraury.

Simons' lawyer said park bosses prevented her from telling the Occupational Safety and Health Administration everything she new regarding the death of Brancheau.

Brancheau was lying down on a platform in shallow water during a performance when killer whale Tilikum, which previously had killed two other people, yanked her under the water by her ponytail and shook her to death.

Sea World policy is that trainers are not to get into the tank with Tilikum.

"I want to make sure that it is investigated and that the safety of the team members that remain is not jeopardized," Simons said on the television show. "I think that if they're put into that close proximity (with the whales) it could easily happen again."

SeaWorld released a statement vehemently denying Simons' allegations and saying she "used the threat of negative publicity to seek a sizable monetary payment from Sea World in exchange for her not going public with these false allegations."

The park also said Simons only worked for the company for a few weeks and was fired for poor performance not the reasons she cites.