SeaWorld trainer 'got too close'

A final sheriff's report says a SeaWorld Orlando trainer was lying on her stomach, nose-to-nose with a killer whale when her long hair floated on the water into the animal's mouth and she was dragged to her death.

The report by homicide detectives says 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau had managed to free herself at first and tried to swim to the surface after she was dragged underwater by the whale named Tilikum. But the orca thwarted her attempts by striking her at least twice.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office says she was then dragged to her death at the end of a "Dine with Shamu" show, on February 24.

Another SeaWorld trainer told detectives he sounded an alarm when he noticed Brancheau struggling to free her hair. When he turned back, she had disappeared underwater.

- AP