Trainer killed at SeaWorld photos

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Dawn Brancheau, a whale trainer at SeaWorld Adventure Park, shown performing on December 30, 2005, was killed in an accident with a killer whale at the SeaWorld Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

Police stand at a gate as killer whales swim in tanks at the SeaWorld. Trainer Dawn Brancheau slipped or fell in the tank, and drowned in front of a horrified audience.

Sea World general manager Dan Brown, reads a statement at a news conference after an incident involving the death of a whale trainer.

Dawn Brancheau, seen in this 2005 photo, was known as one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. Brancheau knew her relationship with the giant mammals was vital to the job.

Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before working with killer whales. It was a trip to SeaWorld at age 9 that set her on that career goal. "I remember walking down the aisle [of Shamu Stadium] and telling my mom, `This is what I want to do,' " said Brancheau in 2005. Brancheau spent over 15 years with the whales.

The dangers of the job didn't go unacknowledged. "You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau said in 2005.

Killer whales swim in tanks at the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Fla.

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Dawn Brancheau, a whale trainer at SeaWorld Adventure Park, shown performing on December 30, 2005, was killed in an accident with a killer whale at the SeaWorld Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, February 24, 2010.

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