Steve Irwin was absolutely crazy in love with dangerous nature and certainly entertained many of us for years with his antics. A tragic accident with a stingray has killed him. Rest In Peace, Steve.
September 04, 2006 08:01pm
A DOCTOR and witnesses have told of the desperate efforts to save Australian icon Steve Irwin after the Crocodile Hunter was struck in the chest by a stingray barb today.
Irwin, 44, died this morning after being fatally injured while filming a nature documentary off Queensland.
The news has shocked the nation and prompted a rush of tributes from politicians and the public alike.
Irwin's wife Terri was in Tasmania at the time of the tragedy and had to be contacted by police with the terrible news.
The couple's daughter Bindi, 8, was with her father in north Queensland, Irwin's manager John Stainton said from Cairns.
Choking back tears, Mr Stainton said Irwin had gone “over the top of a stingray and a stingray's barb went up and went into his chest and put a hole into his heart”.
"He possibly died instantly when the barb hit him, and I don't think that he ... felt any pain.”