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(#1) A Man Drowned In The Orca Tank In Orlando
On July 6, 1999, a 27-year-old homeless man named Daniel Dukes was found deceased in the orca tank, draped over the back of a whale named Tilikum. Dukes had visited SeaWorld the previous day, evaded security to stay after the park closed, and entered the tank.
Authorities said it was unclear what possessed Dukes to climb into the tank with the massive beast.
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(#2) Blackfish
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On February 24, 2010, Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old trainer with 16 years of experience, passed in an incident involving Tilikum. SeaWorld's head of animal training said that during a rubdown after the show, Tilikum possibly pulled the trainer into the water where she remained until it was too late.
According to ABC News, Tilikum had lived at the park since the early 1990s and was one of eight killer whales in captivity there at the time of the incident.
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(#3) A Killer Whale Beached Herself At A SeaWorld-Owned Property
In 2016, Morgan, an orca at SeaWorld-owned Loro Parque in Spain, fully beached herself on the concrete side of her pool. Onlookers said she was fully out the water and motionless for nine minutes after a show.
The behavior came a few weeks after Morgan was found repeatedly banging her head into a metal grate in her cage. The park claimed that "voluntary stranding is a natural behavior in wild orcas." National Geographic disputed this, saying that Morgan was likely trying to get away from other whales in the tank with which she was not likely socially compatible.
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(#4) Orca Accosted Inexperienced Trainer Jonathan Smith
In 1987, two orcas grabbed trainer Jonathan Smith, who very little experience working with the animals. They dragged him across the pool. Though he survived the attack, he suffered extensive harm.
Smith later filed suit against SeaWorld, claiming that the company had not warned him about the "dangerous propensities of killer whales" and assured him his lack of experience would not be a danger to him.
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(#5) John Sillick Was Severely Harmed During A Show
In 1987, trainer John Sillick fractured his vertebrae, femur, and pelvis when one of the orcas fell on him as he rode atop another whale during a performance in the tank.
The incident prompted new safety protocols for trainers during live performances with the orcas.
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(#6) A Mechanical Boat Malfunction Hurt Several People
At SeaWorld Ohio, which was later sold and became the now-closed Geauga Lake, a driver lost control of his boat during a Baywatch-themed water-ski stunt show. Allegedly suffering mechanical failure, the boat crashed into the fifth row of the stadium, harming numerous spectators.
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(#7) A Lightning Strike Sent Eight People To The Hospital
On August 16, 2011, three guests and five employees were harmed after lightning struck inside Discovery CoveFlorida. All eight people were transported to a local hospital as a precaution and were released by the next day.
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(#8) A Tourist Was Found Unresponsive On A Water Ride
On October 4, 2010, a 68-year-old man from Manchester, England, was found unresponsive on Roa's Rapids at SeaWorld's Aquatica water park. He was taken to a local hospital, but could not be revived upon arrival. Preliminary findings stated that he passed from natural causes.
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(#9) A Man Was Felled By Cut From Coral
In 2009, a 59-year-old man from Manchester, England, perished after cutting his toe on coral while swimming with fish at SeaWorld's Discovery Cove in Orlando. The victim, a hemophiliac, was diagnosed with septic shock and organ failure.
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(#10) A SeaWorld San Antonio Employee Was Electrocuted
Ricardo Corpus, a SeaWorld San Antonio employee, passed in a workplace incident in 2012. The incident occurred while Corpus was testing the amperage load of an HVAC in an employee-only area.
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(#11) An Orca Closed Its Mouth Around His Trainer's Head
In the 1970s, an orca closed its mouth around trainer Bob Shepard's head. The flash from someone snapping a photograph momentarily stunned the whale, which made him clamp his mouth shut. The whale quickly re-opened his mouth and Shepard suffered only a minor wound.
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About This Tool
Ocean parks are the epitome of the real ocean world. Some of the world's top ocean theme amusement parks give people the opportunity to have close contact with underwater creatures, satisfying human beings' enthusiasm for exploring unknown areas and experiencing the peculiar ocean world. But few people pay attention to the potential dangers of SeaWorld. In recent years, more and more terrible incidents have happened in the originally harmonious and happy SeaWorld.
Have you visited any great SeaWorld? Visitors can learn about various ocean-related stories and learn about all kinds of precious marine life in SeaWorld, but they also need to face unexpected incidents sometimes. There are countless accidents in SeaWorld around the world, this random tool has selected the 11 most awful incidents.
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