ORLANDO, Fla., April 1 (UPI) -- A trainer at SeaWorld in Florida who died after a killer whale attack was killed by blunt force trauma and drowning, an autopsy report said Thursday.
The final report by the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office said Dawn Brancheau suffered injuries to her head, neck and torso, The Orlando Sentinel reported. The 12,000-pound whale, Tilikum, grabbed Brancheau's hair Feb. 24 and dragged her underwater as a horrified audience watched.
The autopsy report does not change preliminary findings that Brancheau's death was accidental. But it details the violence of the attack, reporting the orca ripped off one of Brancheau's arms and part of her scalp and broke bones all over her body.
Tests showed no drugs in Brancheau's system.
Tilikum was involved in the death of a trainer in 1991 at SeaLand of the Pacific. In that incident, the trainer slipped and fell into the tank with Tilikum and two females, who picked her up and tossed her among them, apparently playing.
The whale remains at SeaWorld and may go back on display after the park reviews its procedures on handling killer whales.
