Steve Irwin was tragically killed by a stingray 18 years ago.
The beloved Crocodile Hunter was fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray on this day (September 4) back in 2006. The tragic attack occurred when he was filming a segment for his daughter’s wildlife show, Bindi the Jungle Girl, near Port Douglas in Queensland.
His death triggered an overwhelming wave of sorrow from Steve’s fans around the globe. It even sparked a series of retaliatory actions against stingrays along the Australian coastline – these were condemned by the executive director of Steve’s conservation organization.
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Despite Steve’s encounters with crocodiles, snakes, and sharks, he maintained an unwavering rule that the cameras must never stop rolling. In fact, his IMDb biographer Tommy Donovan claimed the wildlife expert would have been sad if he died and nobody got it on tape.
(Image: Getty Images)
The shocking accident that claimed his life near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was captured on film by the camera crew. However, the whereabouts of this footage remain have been shrouded in mystery.
“He tells his camera crew to always be filming,” Donovan said. “If he needs help he will ask for it. Even if he is eaten by a shark or croc, the main thing he wants is that it be filmed. If he died he would be sad if no one got it on tape.”
(Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
In a cruel twist of fate, Steve, aged 44, was not meant to be out at sea on the day he died. Filming for his show Ocean’s Deadliest was cancelled due to bad weather so they decided to go snorkelling to film footage for his daughter Bindi’s TV show.
Bored at his hotel with cameraman Justin Lyons and director John Stainton, they embarked on a small boat to Batt Reef off the Port Douglas coast. John recalled: “Suddenly, he expressed interest in encountering some typically harmless stingrays. It should have been an innocuous encounter for a children’s program.”
(Image: PA)
Steve and Justin entered the chest-deep waters after spotting a 220lb ray on the ocean floor, anticipating the usually peaceful creature to swim away upon their approach. However, when Steve passed over the creature, it raised its serrated tail and stabbed him with “hundreds of strikes in a few seconds.”
Unaware of the severity of the problem, Justin continued to film. When he turned the camera back to Steve, he saw him surrounded by a pool of blood, recognizing that something was horribly wrong.
(Image: Getty Images)
Cameras caught the moments where Justin assisted Steve onto their inflatable boat, hastening toward the main vessel named Croc One. Throughout the journey, Steve writhed in agony from the venom.
The crew applied pressure to the alarming wound on Steve’s chest. Justin recalled: “He was struggling to breathe. Even if we had reached an emergency ward immediately, it’s likely we couldn’t have saved him due to the extensive damage to his heart.”
They drove back as fast as they could, with Justin shouting for a crew member to cover the wound. They implored Steve to hold on, reminding him of his children.
(Image: Getty Images)
Aware of the gravity of his injuries, the cameras even captured the poignant moment when Steve calmly uttered his heartbreaking final words to Justin: “I’m dying.”
Back on Croc One, another cameraman took over as Justin performed mouth-to-mouth on Steve for an hour until paramedics declared him deceased upon arrival. The stingray attack, the resuscitation efforts, and medical interventions were all captured on film.
(Image: WireImage)
The footage was handed over to Queensland Police for their inquiries. Speculation arose that it might be broadcast, but Discovery Communications, the network that propelled Steve to stardom, said the footage would remain unseen.
John Stainton stated it was far too distressing to ever be shown. “I mean, it should be destroyed,” he conveyed during an interview with CNN’s Larry King Live. “Once it’s released [by the coroner], it should never see the light of day. Never. Never. I’ve seen it, but I don’t want to see it again.”
But many individuals tried to find the distressing footage online. In 2007, authorities claimed to have eradicated all copies but one, which they entrusted to Steve’s grieving widow, Terri.
(Image: Getty Images)
While Terri had always been aware of her husband’s wish for his death to be filmed, the existence of such footage was overwhelming. Without viewing it, she decided to destroy it.
In an interview with You magazine in 2018, Terri explained: “After Steve died, around 100 million viewers watched a fabricated video of his passing that was circulated on YouTube.”
“That film was a complete fabrication, exploiting people’s grief.” I’ve never watched the actual footage. Why would I? I know the circumstances of my husband’s passing.”
“I was relieved that our children weren’t on the boat, as they usually would have been. It would have been traumatizing for them to witness it.” Terri mentioned that, according to her knowledge, a copy still resides in a dusty police vault somewhere.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
