An animal trainer has died after being attacked by a killer whale at the SeaWorld amusement park in Orlando, Florida, US.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, was at the side of a tank at the Shamu Stadium when the creature - a 30-year old, 12,000lb (5,443kg) bull orca whale named Tilikum - reportedly leapt out of the water, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her under. Despite earlier police reports stating that Brancheau had slipped and fallen into the tank, SeaWorld later confirmed that she had been rubbing the whale when it suddenly attacked her.

The incident happened after a show when Brancheau - said to be one of the park's most experienced trainers - was talking about whales and answering questions from visitors. Security workers immediately escorted spectators out of the area.

In a statement, SeaWorld president Dan Brown said: "It is with great sadness that I report that one of our trainers drowned in an incident with one of our killer whales this afternoon.

"We've initiated an investigation to determine, to the extent possible, what occurred."

The whale is reported to have killed before, being blamed for the drowning in 1991 of a trainer at the now closed Sealand of the Pacific attraction at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. In 1999, having been sold to SeaWorld, it was involved with another death when a naked man, said to be an intruder, was found draped across its back.