Shocking video has been released of a SeaWorld trainer's 15-minute ordeal as he was dragged underwater and mauled by a killer whale.
Ken Peters, a trainer at SeaWorld in San Diego, was grabbed by the foot and dragged underwater for extended periods by the 2700kg killer whale known as Kasatka.
The attack has been described as the 'calculated instincts of a killer' by auther David Kirby, who is writing a book on the treatment of Killer Whales at SeaWorld.
Throughout the ordeal Kasatka keeps hold of Mr Peters' foot, dragging him underwater and thrashing him around as trainers outside the pool attempt to separate the two.
The whale keeps Peters' away from the edges of the pool and keeps his foot clenched in its powerful jaws.
Trainers were finally able to separate the two with a net, but not before the whale made one final lunge for its prey.
Mr Peters was forced to run on a broken foot in the shallow section of the pool to get away from the whale.
The video from the 2006 attack has been publicly released for the first time as part of a legal battle between SeaWorld and the US Secretary of Labor, who alleges the park put its staff in danger.
It comes ahead of the release of the book, Death at Seaworld, which has made extraordinary allegations against the park.
Among the most serious are that whales had their teeth removed with power drills when they began harming themselves.
The book's release follows the shocking death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was publicly mauled and drowned in front of the Florida park's patrons in 2010.
In the book, Kirby claims the death was inevitable due to lax safety standards at the park.
The attack on Mr Peters' is being used as evidence that the park did not act quickly enough to prevent a fatal attack despite the obvious potential danger.
At the time of the attack SeaWorld attempted to play down the shocking events.
"There are times like this. They are killer whales. She did choose to demonstrate her feelings in a way that was unfortunate," a SeaWorld trainer said.
Following the attack Mr Peters was rushed to hospital for surgery and vowed never to swim with the animals again.
After the 2010 death of Dawn Brancheau, all SeaWorld trainers were banned from entering the water with killer whales.
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