Steve Irwin, the man known around the world as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died in a stingray attack off the Great Barrier Reef. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. "I was conscious the whole time – I wished I wasn't, the pain was excruciating," Cunningham said. How Did Steve Irwin Die? Liam is said to be recovering well at home Source:Supplied. Source:Supplied . In the early stages of examining the Steve Irwin accident, some experts have hypothesized that the combined positions of Irwin (above the fish) and his cameraman (in front of the fish) could have made the stingray feel trapped and triggered a defensive attack; others point out that completely unprovoked stingray attacks are not unheard of. The cameraman who witnessed the death of the Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin on Monday revealed that a stingray stabbed at him "hundreds of times" and his … Worldwide, death by stingray is similarly rare, with only one or two fatal attacks reported each year. Steve Irwin’s sad death has generated hundreds of emails to Elasmodiver requesting information about stingrays and stingray barbs. Fatal stingray attacks on humans are exceedingly rare. A compilation of stingrays that we caught in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Perth, Western Australia and a Fiddler Ray or two. Lyons said he initially did not realise his friend was hurt: "I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away. Footage has been going around of an angry stingray chasing a man. He was filming in shallow waters in the Great Barrier Reef when a short-tail stingray stabbed him in the chest with its barb. Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . IT'S been 11 years since Steve Irwin tragically died after a stingray barb pierced his heart, but now one US doctor has made an extraordinary claim the crocodile hunter "didn’t have to die". "It's a jagged, sharp barb and it went through his chest like a hot knife through butter. We pay for your stories! News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. Early life. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Advertisement. A SURFER is recovering in hospital after being bitten by a poisonous stingray at a beach in Australia. Having just taken a dip in the sea, the man reportedly ran back onto the beach crying in pain after the stingray's barbed tail found its way into his swim shorts and hooked onto his genitals. Stingray Barbs and the Dangers Posed by Stingrays . Even if we'd been able to get him into an emergency ward at that moment we probably wouldn't have been able to save him, because the damage to his heart was massive. "You don't know what's hiding in that seaweed. Around the world, only one to two fatal attacks are reported every year. A pet stingray called Steve Irwin sunk its 3-inch barb into his owner just days after the man bought it. Click here to upload yours. After Mr Taylor was attacked, he called a friend who drove him to a nearby hospital, where doctors told him he was lucky to be alive. An Australian man with an apparent death wish antagonized a stingray at the beach in Gold Coast. He said the creature struck when he dived under the water in a patch of thick seaweed. Worldwide, death by stingray is similarly rare, with only one or two fatal attacks reported each year. A man was swimming near a large stingray on the beach at Broadwater on the Gold Coast when he decided to dive aggressively toward a two-metre estuary ray. A surfer and snorkeler were seen floating over the large bull stingray, known as Raymond, at Tamarama Beach, appearing to be unaware of the huge sea creature right beneath them. On September 4, 2006, international news declared the death of Steve Irwin from a stingray attack. The short-tail can grow up to 14 feet long and tip the scales at more than 750 pounds. Stingrays are commonly found in the shallow coastal waters of temperate seas. The stingray was between the two of them and Irwin would swim toward the camera and Lyons would film the ray swimming away. The only witness of the attack was cameraman Justin Lyons who spoke to Australia's Channel Ten in 2014. ", Another cameraman filmed attempts to save him, following Irwin's strict orders that anything that happened to him during filming should be recorded. Last year, footage showed a beachgoer writhing on the sand in agony after his genitals were jabbed by a stingray's barbed tail. He is to undergo plastic surgery for his wounds and is urging others to take care in the water. Australian crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died in a stingray attack in September 2006 when a barb pierced his chest. I'd hate for this to happen to somebody else.". Chan’s death echoed the most famous stingray attack, the fatal encounter between Australian wildlife celebrity Steve Irwin and a large bull ray in 2006. James Taylor was in the water at when he felt a searing pain on his face - in a chilling echo of the attack that killed Steve Irwin. I did CPR on him for over an hour before the medics came, but pronounced him dead within 10 seconds of looking at him. Steve Irwin realised that the stingray's barb had punctured his lung but not his heart, Justin Lyons told Australia's Network Ten television. Out of respect for his family, I would say never. Only two have been reported in Australian waters since 1945. ", While Irwin was in "extraordinary pain" from the venom on the barb, Lyons said, the naturalist believed he had only punctured a lung. "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin dies when a stingray's barb pierces his chest. Instead they came across a 2.4-metre-wide stingray, and entered chest-deep water to film it. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. He just sort of calmly looked up at me and said, 'I'm dying.' Stingray Attacks Man. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. 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In 2006, Australian conservationist and “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin died after a stingray’s serrated barb pierced his heart while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. The only person to witness the moment Steve Irwin was pierced in the chest by a stingray barb said the injuries were so severe that the Australian TV naturalist could not possibly have been saved. It wasn't until I panned the camera back and Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood that I realised something had gone wrong. Steve's death is believed to be the only stingray fatality ever captured on camera. I thought – this is going to be a great shot, fantastic. His widow Terri Irwin, with whom he had two children, continues to operate Australia Zoo. He assumes the animal mistook Irwin's shadow for a tiger shark, its main prey. The unnamed holidaymaker was enjoying a sunny day in the tropical city of Sanya, south China, when the freak accident occurred. The stingray returned the favor by charging at the man, stopping short of stinging him. Steve incurred a huge gash across his chest, his heart pierced by the stingray’s barb. It is a huge and normally docile fish which spends most of its time buried in sand. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. ", Lyons added: "He had a two-inch wide injury over his heart, with blood and fluid coming out of it. Justin Lyons, a regular underwater cameraman for Irwin and a close friend, said the jagged barb punctured Irwin's chest dozens of times, causing a massive injury to his heart. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society named its island-class patrol vessel MY Steve Irwin after Irwin. Steve Irwin died tragically died after a stingray barb pierced his heart while he was making documentary on the ocean’s deadliest creatures on the Gold Coast in 2006. And that was the last thing he said.". We pay for videos too. Steve didn’t pull it out; it’s a jagged, sharp barb and it went through Steve’s chest like a hot knife through butter." Stingrays generally do not attack aggressively or even actively defend themselves. All of a sudden it propped on its front and started stabbing wildly with its tail, hundreds of strikes in a few seconds," said Lyons. An 8ft stingray suddenly struck out, possibly thinking Irwin’s shadow was a predatory tiger shark. "He was having trouble breathing. Advertisement. As we're motoring back I'm screaming at one of the other crew in the boat to put their hand over the wound and we're saying to him things like, 'Think of your kids, Steve, hang on, hang on, hang on.' For other inquiries, Contact Us. Paramedics from Cairns rushed to the scene but were unable to save him. These usually involve unwitting waders who … I didn't even know it had caused any damage. ” It must be noted that it’s very rare behaviour for a stingray to fatally attack a human. Mr Irwin, 44, died after being struck in the chest by the stingray's barb while he was filming a documentary in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. A stingray injury is caused by the venomous tail spines, stingers or dermal denticles of rays in the order Myliobatiformes, most significantly those belonging to the families Dasyatidae, Urotrygonidae, Urolophidae, and Potamotrygonidae. He said the stingray had a ‘jagged barb’ which ‘went through his chest like hot butter.’ ‘He had a about a two-inch injury over his heart with blood-fluid coming out of it,’ said Mr Lyons. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. View our online Press Pack. Boy stung by stingray, has surgery to remove barb - YouTube Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin tragically died on September 4 2006 after being pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef The underside may produce venom, which can be fatal to humans and can remain deadly even after the stingray's death. It was only when Lyons helped put Irwin on the inflatable boat he realised the extent of the damage. “I looked down at myself and I had a black wetsuit on, but it was just red (with blood). ", Cameraman tells of moment Australian naturalist's chest was repeatedly pierced by barb, and his last words – 'I'm dying', Steve Irwin realised that the stingray's barb had punctured his lung but not his heart, Justin Lyons told Australia's Network Ten television. I had a quick shower and there was just red everywhere," he said. Fatal attacks by stingrays on humans are extremely rare. When threatened, their primary reaction is to swim away. Teacher reveals his excruciating injuries after accidentally stepping on a stingray - leaving a five-inch barb impaled in his leg. ", Irwin was returned to the main boat and Lyons tried to revive him: "We hoped for a miracle. Irwin and Lyons were just over a week into filming a series called Ocean's Deadliest on the Great Barrier Reef in September 2006 when they took an inflatable boat a short distance from the main vessel carrying the rest of the crew in the hope of finding a tiger shark, Lyons said. Justin said that Steve’s last words were, “I’m dying. "There were children down there last night swimming, walking in the shallows. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The largest of all stingrays is the short-tail stingray, Dasyatis brevicaudata. While what happened to Steve Irwin is a tragedy, Henningsen notes it’s extremely rare to have a vital organ punctured by a stingray barb. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Both victims were stung in the chest, like Irwin. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. He also insisted that, contrary to reports at the time, Steve did NOT try and remove the barb, saying: "The stingray barb was a blade of about a foot extending out of the tail. "He obviously didn't know it had punctured his heart but he knew it had punctured his lung," Lyons told Australia's Network Ten television. The stingray's tail spine, or barb, has serrated edges and a sharp point or barb. Lyons said he did not know what had happened to the footage, and did not think it should ever be shown in any form: "Never. Steve Irwin died  tragically died after a stingray barb pierced his heart while he was making documentary on the ocean’s deadliest creatures on the Gold Coast in 2006. The final shot was to be of Irwin swimming up to the stingray, with Lyons then filming it swim away. The stingray's barb … Justin speculated … RELATED: CONFIRMED: Bindi Irwin's Joyful News - 'A Pregnant Bride!' "If it had been a bit higher it would have hit my eye, and if it had hit my neck that would have been a completely different story.". A 42-year-old man died last year after being attacked while swimming in Tasmania. Stingrays are usually calm and will just swim away if frightened, he said. Stingray barbs produce a venom that can be deadly to humans. The stingray's toxins soon began giving him serious breathing difficulties and it was feared that the barbs had punctured a lung. Rather than try to answer them all individually I have created this page that covers most of the questions that people have been asking: What do Stingray use their barbs for? , sharp barb and it was just red everywhere, '' Cunningham said. `` recovering in after. 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