Stingray kills Steve Irwin

By Luke McIlveen

September 04, 2006 12:00

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CROCODILE Hunter Steve Irwin died after a stringray barb caught him in the chest with the deadly impact of a bayonet.

The 44-year-old international TV star was swimming off the Low Isles at Port Douglas filming an underwater documentary when the incident happened.

Ambulance officers received a call to a reef fatality this morning at Batt Reef. The Queensland Ambulance Service said the call was received about 11am and an emergency services helicopter was flown to the boat with a doctor and emergency services paramedic on board.

Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The doctor called in to treat Steve Irwin said his death after being struck by a stingray barb was ``highly unusual''.

Ed O'Loughlin was aboard the Emergency Management Queensland Helicopter which was called to the incident.

Dr O'Loughlin said he had worked in north Queensland for several months and in Perth prior to that and had not come across a death from a stingray before.

``It would be highly unusual for a stingray to cause this type of injury,'' Dr O'Loughlin said.

Irwin, 44, was being given CPR at Low Isles as the helicopter arrived less than one hour after the incident but Dr O'Loughlin said nothing could be done to save him.

``It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries,'' Dr O'Loughlin said.

``He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest.''

``He had lost his pulse and wasn't breathing.''

Dr O'Loughlin said it appeared Mr Irwin had suffered a ``form of cardiac arrest'' but a post-mortem examination would be conducted in Cairns.

Wildlife filmmaker David Ireland said the barb would have been as deadly as a rifle bayonet driven into one of his vital organs.

Mr Ireland, sometimes referred to as "the original crocodile man'' and a world-renowned wildlife cameraman and film producer, said he was shocked and saddened to hear of Mr Irwin's death.

Mr Ireland said while he had never met his fellow wildlife movie maker, they had a mutual respect which was shared among the handful of people in the world who worked "close up'' with wild animals. "hat happened today is just an absolute shock,'' a shaken Mr Ireland said.

"Working with (wild animals) the way the way we do things can go very wrong.''

Describing stingrays, he added: "They are very dangerous. They have one or two barbs in the tails which are not only coated in toxic material but are also like a bayonet, like a bayonet on a rifle.

"If it hits any vital organs it's as deadly as a bayonet.''

Irwin leaves his wife Terri and young children Bob and and Bindi.

His wife, who was trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, was told by emergency services of her husband's death.

The blonde star of Crocodile Hunter, who made khaki shorts and boots his uniform all year round, was an Australian icon.

But his reptile wrestling antics thrilled overseas audiences even more and he became a fixture on US television in the past decade.

The son of naturalists Bob and Lyn Irwin, Steve learned to live with dangerous reptiles from a young age at the family’s Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park.

He opened his own Australia Zoo in Queensland in 1991, leading him to record the hugely popular Crocodile Hunter the following year.

His catchcry of “Crikey!” brought the unfashionable Aussie phrase back into vogue.

Irwin’s work had a serious side. He was recently made the face of Australia’s quarantine laws and appeared in TV advertisements urging travellers not to endanger Australia’s unique flora and fauna by bringing in foreign specimens.

For all his love of animals, Irwin’s first duty was to his US-born wife, Terri Reines, who appeared by his side from the very first episode of the Crocodile Hunter. In 1998, their daughter Bindi Sue was born and drafted straight into the family business.

A son, Robert Clarence, was born in 2003 and Irwin made world headlines - and suffered a dent on his popularity - when he carried the baby boy with him whilst hand-feeding crocodiles, leading critics to accuse him of neglect.

In a sign that Irwin’s popularity had outgrown Australia, he went on US network NBS to apologise for taking Bob into the crocodile enclosure.

"If I could relive Friday, mate, I'd go surfing,'' he said. "But I can't go back to Friday ... but you know what, mate?

"Don't think for one second I would ever endanger my babies, mate, because they're the most important thing in my life, just like I was with my mum and dad.''`

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie came to Irwin’s defence, claiming he had done more to promote Queensland in modern times than anyone.

"He has been one of the best ambassadors for Queensland in the modern era,'' Mr Beattie said. "He is known internationally and has been a fantastic advocate.''

Irwin came under fire again in June 2004, when he was accused of getting too close to whales in the Antarctica during filming.

"It's a huge vendetta,'' said Irwin, speaking at his wildlife park in Queensland. "It's a massive agenda not by one or two people but by countless millions of people who support the wearing (of leather) and the sustainable use of wildlife and killing whales.''