BRISBANE, Sept 4 - Television personality and environmentalist Steve Irwin has died in a marine accident in north Queensland, state government sources say.
The 44-year-old is believed to have been killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, the sources said.
He was filming an underwater documentary off Port Douglas when the accident occurred.
Mr Irwin’s body was being flown to Cairns.
It’s believed Mr Irwin’s American-born wife Terri is trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and has yet to be told of her husband’s death.
Mr Irwin - known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter - is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry ``Crikey!’’.
The father of two’s Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on cable network Discovery.
He’s also starred in movies and has developed the Australia Zoo wildlife park, north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.
The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) said a call was received about 11am (AEST) and an emergency services helicopter was flown to the boat on Batt Reef off the coast near Cairns with a doctor and emergency services paramedic on board.
Mr Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Irwins have two children - a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, eight, and a three-year-old son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin.
Bob was involved in a controversial incident with his father in January, 2004, when he dangled him near a crocodile at Australia Zoo.
Mr Irwin carried his infant son in one arm while feeding a dead chicken carcass to a crocodile with the other hand.
Child welfare and animal rights groups criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse.
Mr Irwin stated any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was in complete control of the situation
I read that those sting rays are usually real passive, but they’re huge, growing up two tonnes. They have one or two barbs at the end of their tail and they’re coated in toxic substance that could trigger an allergic reaction or in an extreme case, even a heart attack. The barbs themselves are as lethal as a bayonnet on a rifle. They’ll cut straight into you. Looks like he got it straight into the chest. Poor bastard, his family will be devastated. This will be huge news in Australia no doubt
Kind of ironic that it was probably the least deadliest of all animal species hes come up against that ended up killing him. I really loved watching that guy. Are they sure it was the stingray? I was watching discovery the other day and there is a species of jellyfish about the size of a human fingernail that delivers stings potent enough to kill people within a few hours. They are so small, you can barely even see them in clear water. I was amazed that something so small could be so deadly.
mate, it was the actuall barb that killed him they say. it could have been up to 8-10 inches long, serrated like a steak knife. into the heart, he pulled it out got to the surface, like 1-2mtrs away, and was basicallly dead by the time they got him into the boat. the did CPR till they got to the main land. but Dr said he was gone.
they said that the size of the one that got him, was up to around 250kg, it was that big…
if the barb hit him the other side of his chest, he would be telling us the story himself.
I was a big Steve Irwin fan, but to be honest I didn’t bat an eyelash when I saw the report of his death. It wasn’t that I wasn’t upset, but for some reason I wasn’t terribly surprised. As good as that guy was, I was always amazed this didn’t happen sooner. He joked about it himself as much as anyone. Let’s face it, no one was expecting Steve to die of old age in a nursing home.
I do think it’s ironic that he was killed by one of the most docile animals he came in contact with, but that only shows just how dangerous the other creatures were in comparison. I’d rather be taken out by a stingray than ripped apart by a croc.
I remember when I first saw him on TV thinking that guy will be croc lunch in a few months … but behind all the bluster and loudness he was a real conservationist.
He was kinda like a cross between David Belamy and an older Shane Warne