Irwin pulled stingray barb from his chest

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Irwin pulled stingray barb from his chest

 

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20355112-601,00.html

 

 

Ian Gerard and Tony Koch

September 05, 2006

A LIFE-long friend of Steve Irwin today told how the

Crocodile Hunter pulled a deadly stingray barb from

his own chest before losing consciousness and dying.

 

Friend John Stainton said he had viewed footage of his

friend's last moments and the images were " shocking " .

 

" It's a very hard thing to watch because you're

actually witnessing somebody die ... and it's

terrible, " he said.

 

" It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and

the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest),

and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone.

That was it. The cameraman had to shut down. "

 

The footage of the fatal attack on the Great Barrier

Reef has been handed to Queensland police as fans

worldwide come to grips with the " freak " death.

 

Irwin, 44, was killed almost instantly when the

stingray stabbed him in the heart with its poisonous

20cm barb as he snorkelled off Port Douglas, in north

Queensland, yesterday morning.

 

As tributes and salutes poured in from around the

world, Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said Irwin

would get a state funeral if that's what his family

wanted.

 

On the election campaign trail in Hervey Bay, Mr

Beattie said the Governemnt was considering the

possibility of naming a national park after the

flamboyant naturalist.

 

" We want to make certain that ... there's a fitting

long-term tribute to Steve Irwin and it may well be we

can do all sorts of things like name a national park,

we could have particular awards, all sorts of things, "

the Premier said.

 

Irwin's American-born wife, Terri, was trekking in

Tasmania's Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair National

Park when the news broke of her husband's death and

last night flew back to Queensland with her two

children Bindi, 8, and Bob, 2.

 

The diveboat's owner Peter West also saw the footage.

 

" There was no blood in the water, it was not that

obvious ... something happened with this animal that

made it rear and he was at the wrong position at the

wrong time and if it hit him anywhere else we would

not be talking about a fatality, " said Mr West.

 

Irwin was shooting a documentary on dangerous marine

life, in shallow water at Batt Reef, about 32 nautical

miles offshore, at about 11am.

 

Tributes poured in from around the world for Irwin, a

renowned environmentalist who was estimated to be

earning more than $4million a year from his Queensland

reptile park, Australia Zoo.

 

Footage of the attack shows Irwin swimming above a

2.5m stingray before it turns on him and sends a

poisonous barb through his heart.

 

Irwin was pulled from the water by a cameraman and a

crewman, put on an inflatable tender and taken to a

support boat about 500m away.

 

Crewmembers say he was barely conscious in the minutes

after the sting and died as his production team rushed

him to his vessel, Croc One, and to a nearby island

for emergency treatment.

 

A charter dive boat crew desperately tried to revive

him on the beach, but were unsuccessful and he was

pronounced dead shortly afterwards by Queensland

Rescue Service officers, who had flown to the area by

helicopter.

 

Irwin's body was last night flown to Cairns where a

post-mortem examination this morning confirmed Irwin

was killed when the poisonous barb on the stingray's

tail pierced his chest. Police have seized all

available evidence and interviewed witnesses in order

to prepare a report for the Coroner.

 

A coronial inquest is expected.

 

Producer, director and life-long friend John Stainton

yesterday said Irwin did not provoke the stingray and

was simply swimming above it when he was attacked.

 

" He came over the top of a stingray and the stingray

barb went up and into his chest and into his heart, "

Stainton said.

 

" It's likely that he possibly died instantly when the

barb hit him, and I hope he felt no pain. "

 

One of Irwin's contemporaries, internationally known

cameraman and spearfisherman Ben Cropp, was in his own

boat off Port Douglas when Irwin was killed.

 

" I have just spoken to a cameraman friend who was

there and has seen the footage, " Mr Cropp told The

Australian last night.

 

" He was up in the shallow water, probably 1.5m to 2m

deep, following a bull ray which was about a metre

across the body - probably weighing about 100kg, and

it had quite a large spine.

 

" The cameraman was filming in the water. "

 

Mr Cropp said the stingray was spooked and went into

defensive mood.

 

" It probably felt threatened because Steve was

alongside and there was the cameraman ahead, and it

felt there was danger and it baulked.

 

" It stopped and went into a defensive mode and swung

its tail with the spike.

 

" Steve unfortunately was in a bad position and copped

it.

 

" I have had that happen to me, and I can visualise it

- when a ray goes into defensive, you get out of the

way.

 

" Steve was so close he could not get away, so if you

can imagine it - being right beside the ray and it

swinging its spine upwards from underneath Steve - and

it hit him.

 

" I have seen that sort of reaction with rays - with

their tail breaking the water, such is the force. "

 

Internationally renowned jellyfish sting expert Jamie

Seymour was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

 

Irwin had decided yesterday morning to shoot a segment

of film on stingrays for a new television program that

will be hosted by his daughter, Bindi.

 

Surf Lifesavers national marine stinger adviser

Lisa-Ann Gershwin said there had only been 17 fatal

stingray attacks worldwide.

 

" I think it's just an extraordinary freak accident

that has happened to his heart, " she said.

" A lot of people will be afraid by this, but they need

to keep in mind that this was a freak accident, it was

a terrible tragedy but it is not common. "

 

Dr Gershwin said stingray stings to the legs or arms

were common and, while painful, were not normally

considered dangerous. She said there were many

different types of stingrays, with barbs on their

tails up to 30cm long, and they poisoned victims with

a range of toxins.

 

Mr West said the barb was like a " very rough knife "

and while fatal stingray stings had been known to

occur, filming and swimming alongside the animal was

commonplace among marine filmmakers.

 

Mr Cropp said he was told that the strike was " close

to the heart and Steve had a cardiac arrest " .

 

" At first they treated him as being wounded, but he

didn't survive unfortunately, " he said.

 

" The second boat in attendance raced in to give

assistance and they radioed for help.

 

" They went into Low Isle and met the chopper which

took Steve's body out. "

 

In September 2004, Mr Cropp was attacked by a tiger

shark on Bott Reef. " The rays in Australia and

particularly in the north are not like those on the

Cayman Islands, which are very quiet and allow people

to ride on their backs, " he said.

 

" At this time of the year they are on the lookout for

tiger sharks and are very frisky.

 

" They are not aggressive. In fact they are very timid,

but they defend themselves by throwing their tail

spine upwards, and there is a spike on the tip about

eight inches long which they can use like a dagger. "

 

With agencies