SeaWorld Orlando investigation: Killer whale pulled in trainer by ponytail

One person is dead at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, following an incident this afternoon, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed.

Orange County Fire Rescue responded to SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium this afternoon on report of a person who was not breathing. Details about the incident are not yet available, but a Sheriff's Office official confirmed it is a death investigation.

A local TV station is reporting that a female trainer was killed after she was grabbed by one of the theme park's whales at the start of a public show.

Park guest Victoria Biniak told Local 6 that the trainer was a veteran of SeaWorld and had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see.

At that point, Biniak said, the whale came up from the water, grabbed the trainer around the waste and "thrashed her all around" to the point the trainer's shoe fell off.

Guests were evacuated and were later told the park was shut down, Biniak told Local 6. Rescue personnel were called to the theme park at 2 p.m. Calls to SeaWorld and Orange County Fire Rescue were not immediately returned.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration dispatched an investigator from Tampa to investigate, an OSHA spokesman said.

Local 6 is reporting that the whale involved in the incident is named Tillikum, and that whale has been involved in at least one other incident at the park.

Tillikum, nicknamed "Tilly," has a controversial past. The large whale was blamed for the drowning of one of his trainers in 1991 while he was performing at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia.

Sold to SeaWorld as a stud in 1992, the whale was involved in a second incident when authorities discovered the body of a naked man lying across his back in July 1999.

Authorities later concluded the man, who had either snuck into SeaWorld after hours or hidden in the park until it closed, most likely drowned after suffering hypothermia in the 55-degree water.

But they also said it appeared Tillikum had bit the man and tore of his swimming trunks, likely believing he was a toy to play with.

SeaWorld has had incidents with its killer whales in the past. In 2005, a trainer was injured by what park officials called an "overly excited" whale that bumped the trainer during a live performance. The injuries were minor.

Many animal-rights activists have long criticized SeaWorld and other marine parks for keeping orcas and other wildlife in captivity. Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer in Fort Lauderdale, said keeping the animals captive makes them dangerous.

"Captivity is abusive to these animals. And the abuse mounts up. And when these animals snap -- just for a minute -- they're so big and can be so dangerous that it's like a shotgun," Rector said. "It does an incredible amount of damage in just a moment."