VIDEO: Trainer narrowly escapes from killer whale

A newly released video shows a trainer being trapped by a 5,000 pound killer whale.

The video was released as part of a federal lawsuit. The government cited Sea World for unsafe practices.

The video shows the trainer struggling to get free from the whale that he'd trained for years.

The animal held him underwater for about 30 seconds to a minute and then brings him up.

"If she wanted to kill him, she would have killed him," Thad Lacinak, the former VP of Animal Training at the Orlando Sea World. "We are taught to remain calm. If you get excited, the animal will get excited."

Once the whale released him, the trainer then sprinted to the edge of the poll.

You may recall another trainer was pulled underwater and killed by a whale.