Dolphin dies after leaping from pool

The Yomiuri Shimbun

NAGOYA--A female dolphin died during rehearsals for an aquarium show after jumping out of a pool, the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium said Sunday.

According to the aquarium, the accident happened at about 2 p.m. Saturday. Sara, a Pacific white-sided dolphin thought to be about 17 years old, jumped about six to eight meters above the water surface, flew through the air in an arc and landed chest-first on a concrete floor.

The pool was 60 meters long, 30 meters wide and 12 meters deep.

Sara was 2.11 meters long and weighed 106 kilograms. She had been kept at the aquarium since December 2008 after being caught off Taijicho, Wakayama Prefecture.