AOL entertainment news...
"Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said."

Wow! Check out the bolded part. This guy really took his job serisouly:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_en_tv/obit_irwin

Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin


By BRIAN CASSEY, Associated Press Writer 46 minutes ago

CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.

He rode his image into a feature film, 2002's "The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course" and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

"The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told reporters in Cairns. "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"

Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor
President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was "shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death."

"It's a huge loss to Australia," Howard told reporters. "He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people."

Irwin, who made a trademark of hovering dangerously close to untethered crocodiles and leaping on their backs, spoke in rapid-fire bursts with a thick Australian accent and was almost never seen without his uniform of khaki shorts and shirt and heavy boots.

Wild animal expert Jack Hanna, who frequently appears on TV with his subjects, offered praise for Irwin.

"Steve was one of these guys, we thought of him as invincible," Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium, told ABC's "Good Morning America" Monday.

"The guy was incredible. His knowledge was incredible," Hanna said. "Some people that are doing this stuff are actors and that type of thing, but Steve was truly a zoologist, so to speak, a person who knew what he was doing. Yes, he did things a lot of people wouldn't do. I think he knew what he was doing."

Irwin's ebullience was infectious and Australian officials sought him out for photo opportunities and to promote Australia internationally.

His public image was dented, however, in 2004 when he caused an uproar by holding his infant son in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen. Irwin claimed at the time there was no danger to the child, and authorities declined to charge Irwin with violating safety regulations.

Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins, a seal and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. Irwin denied any wrongdoing, and an Australian Environment Department investigation recommended no action be taken against him.

Stingrays have a serrated, toxin-loaded barb, or spine, on the top of their tail. The barb, which can be up to 10 inches long, flexes if a ray is frightened. Stings usually occur to people when they step on or swim too close to a ray and can be excruciatingly painful but are rarely fatal, said University of Queensland marine neuroscientist Shaun Collin.

Collin said he suspected Irwin died because the barb pierced under his ribcage and directly into his heart.

"It was extraordinarily bad luck. It's not easy to get spined by a stingray and to be killed by one is very rare," Collin said.

News of Irwin's death spread quickly, and tributes flowed from all quarters of society.

At Australia Zoo at Beerwah, south Queensland, floral tributes were dropped at the entrance, where a huge fake crocodile gapes. Drivers honked their horns as they passed.

"Steve, from all God's creatures, thank you. Rest in peace," was written on a card with a bouquet of native flowers.

"We're all very shocked. I don't know what the zoo will do without him. He's done so much for us, the environment and it's a big loss," said Paula Kelly, a local resident and volunteer at the zoo, after dropping off a wreath at the gate.

Stainton said Irwin's American-born wife Terri, from Eugene, Ore., had been informed of his death, and had told their daughter Bindi Sue, 8, and son Bob, who will turn 3 in December.

The couple met when she went on vacation in Australia in 1991 and visited Irwin's Australia Zoo; they were married six months later. Sometimes referred to as the "Crocodile Huntress," she costarred on her husband's television show and in his 2002 movie.

You beat me to it.

what a depressing way to begin the morning. R.I.P. Mr.Steve Irwin you will be missed.

I mean, what were the odds that he would meet his end other than by some creature....

R.I.P. Steve.

Steve Corwin better watch out.

RIP.

It's Jeff Corwin.

D'oh! sorry

Hearing this, I thought "A Stingray.. geesh, the guy went out like a pussy..." then I saw this:




...a stingray barb. yikes!

Sorry don't cut it. Now that you've dubbed Jeff "Steve", you've jinxed him, and now he'll probably die from an infected possum bite or something.

very sad

It was maybe a couple of years ago that he was holding his baby while feeding the croc. So they are pretty young, and seeing your dad on reruns isn't quite the same.

It kind of reminds of when Dale Earnhardt died a few years ago, you know its dangerous, but you don't think the "best" could die while on the "job".

Bindi is around eight years old. Bob was born a couple years later. I'm sure they have memories.

Jeff is a bit more careful, but he absolutely will be bitten by a venomous snake again. He has a tattoo of a coral snake on his arm, because that is the only venomous snake to have bitten him.

If I understood what I read in all this, Bindi (the 8-year-old daughter) has her own little show in the zoo run by her parents, so it's likely Steve was very involved in her activities, and she'll have lots of memories of him. Hell, she probably already knows more about the animal world than most of us here will ever know!

I was nine when my father died. I do have memories of him, but they are not all as clear or plentiful as I would like. My brother was 4 1/2; he has no memories of our father.

My eldest brother has solid memories of his dad. Of course most of those memories landed him in some serious therapy later in life.

I thought I heard on the news that his wife is tracking something, and cant be contacted. She doesnt even know yet.

On CNN, Steve's producer said they had concluded the filming of the "Ocean's Deadliest" program, but Steve wanted to get some pick-up shots and soft segments of coral and the Great Barrier Reef for his daughter's television program. And while he was doing that, a stingray raised out from under the sand and speared him.

And his wife has been informed by now; the news article a few posts up confirms that both Terri and his children are aware of the death.

Terri would have a satellite phone on her. She knows.

She has already told Bindi.

So sad. I remember watching when Teri was giving birth to Bindi. Steve had the biggest smile on his face; he was so happy.

This is really sad news - I'm the father of an eight year old, and my best friend died of a heart attack at age 36, leaving three pre-teen boys behind. To be taken away from your children at such an early age is just a horrible thing. Normally, these kinds of things don't affect me; after all, these people are just images on a tv screen, we don't "really" know them - this time it really hit home.

He wants his death to be broadcast on TV.


http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf...adcast_1007314

CROCODILE HUNTER DEATH TO BE BROADCAST?

The footage of late Australian naturalist STEVE IRWIN being killed by a stingray could be shown on TV. Charismatic Irwin, dubbed the Crocodile Hunter after his internationally acclaimed TV show, died yesterday (04SEP06) while diving on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Irwin was filming for a new documentary when he lost his life, and his cameraman shot the moment when the stingray's barbed tail stabbed the legendary conservationist through the heart. The tapes are currently being held by Queensland police - but Irwin's family are determined to respect his last wishes and allow the harrowing footage to be broadcast. Irwin once insisted, "My number one rule is to keep that camera rolling. Even if it's shaky or slightly out of focus, I don't give a rip. "Even if a big old alligator is chewing me up I want to go down and go, 'Crikey!' just before I die. That would be the ultimate for me." An insider tells British newspaper the Daily Star, "This is exactly what Steve would have wanted. He knew the dangers and was totally up for the cameras to get everything."

05/09/2006 12:52

RIP Steve Irwin. You will be greatly missed.

This hits particularly hard because I had a friend who was killed by a stingray. Ran him over at the corner of Fifth and Main. Never found the driver.