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Date: 04 Sep 2006 18:05:06
From: Josh Button
Subject: OT - Steve Irwin dead
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http://tinyurl.com/zzxj4
STEVE IRWIN KILLED BY STINGRAY
David Williams and Lousia Hearn
September 4, 2006 - 6:00PM
Television personality and environmentalist Steve Irwin has died from a
stingray wound while filming off north Queensland.
Irwin's friend of 20 years Ferre De Deyne said although the circumstances
surrounding the incident had not been confirmed, he believed Irwin had been
struck by the stingray while filming a documentary on tiger sharks.
"The stingray just happened to be swimming around and out of the blue
wapped his tail at him," he said.
"It is absolutely tragic. I have dived so many times with stingrays and they
are usually very placid things," he said.
Known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter, 44-year-old Irwin was famous for
his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!"
The Queensland Police Service issued a statement saying Irwin collapsed
after being stung at Batt Reef, Low Isles, off Port Douglas about 11am. He
had been filming a documentary.
"Steve was hit by a stingray in the chest," said local diving operator Steve
Edmondson, whose Poseidon boats were out on the Great Barrier Reef when the
accident occured.
"He probably died from a cardiac arrest from the injury," he said.
Police said that, after the attack, Irwin's crew called for medical
treatment at 11am and the Queensland Rescue Helicopter responded with a
dor and paramedic on board.
Puncture wound
Irwin had a puncture wound to the left side of his chest and was pronounced
dead at the scene.
Police said Irwin's family had been advised and Irwin's body was being flown
to Cairns.
It is believed his American-born wife Terri was trekking on Cradle Mountain
in Tasmania when the accident happened.
Police in Tasmania say she had been told.
The Irwins have two children, a daughter, Bindi Sue, 8, and a son, Robert
Clarence, usually known as Bob, 3.
The Irwins married in 1992 - the same year Irwin made a one-off documentary,
The Crocodile Hunter, which later became a world-famous TV series and movie.
When asked if he had ever heard of anyone dying from a stingray barb,
Matthew Hurley, general manager of Quicksilver Group, whose company has
taken tours to Low Isles for 26 years, said: "No, definitely not.
"We've never heard of or been involved with anything like that."
Ross Coleman, acting director at at University of Sydney Institute of Marine
Science, told smh.com.au it was "quite rare" for someone to die from contact
with a stingray and he couldn't recall hearing of another incident.
Stingrays were "dangerous if provoked", he said.
"As a recreational diving instructor you hear of people getting injured by
standing on them ... but they rarely die."
'The zoo will go on'
Irwin's wife Terri would not close down the zoo, predicted Jim Dalrymple,
whose local irrigation firm helped maintain the water supplies to Irwin's
Australia Zoo in Beerwah on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
The zoo is the biggest local employer with 550 staff, Mr Dalrymple said.
"I managed an irrigation business in Beerwah and had occasions where I
served Steve personally.
"Terri would ring to say Steve was on his way down to the shop, can you stay
open. It was usually on a Saturday afternoon when Steve needed something and
got caught short. He was always so thankful.
"I think the zoo will go on," said Mr Dalrymple, who also owns the local
Beerwah Motel.
"I don't think Terri would let it close down. She's too passionate to change
Steve's wishes. But he's irreplaceable."
True to the core
Mr De Deyne, the managing director of the Big Kart Track which is located
close to Australia Zoo, said he had counted Irwin as a friend for 20 years.
"I've lost a dear frend. This is absolutely tragic news for me," he said.
Mr De Deyne said he had first met Irwin in 1985 in a restaurant in
Coloundra. He described him as a "regular guy" who would often come in for a
bite to eat.
"This guy was true to the core. He was big and alive and had a total
commitment to everything he was doing.
"You will never ever find a guy with more passion about the environment or
the conservation of wildlife. He put Australia on the world map and did the
same for Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.''
Trouble over croc feeding with son
Irwin won a global following for his daredevil antics but also triggered
outrage in 2004 by holding his then one-month-old baby while feeding a
snapping crocodile at his Australian zoo.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, who used a photograph of his
family at Australia Zoo for his official Christmas card last year, hailed
Irwin for his work in promoting Australia.
Irwin was heavily involved in last year's "G'Day LA'' campaign.
"The minister knew him, was fond of him and was very, very appreciative of
all the work he'd done to promote Australia overseas," a spokesman said.
The Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown
around the world on cable network Discovery.
Irwin came 20th last year in BRW magazine's top 50 entertainers.
The magazine said the hugely popular Crocodile Hunter spent most of 2005
filming and launching his new television series, New Breed Vets, to appear
on the pay-TV channel Animal Planet.
In February, Irwin received an award from Tourism Australia for his
contribution to tourism.
Over the last 12 months, he has also expanded his Australia Zoo wildlife
park on the Sunshine Coast.
Pop star Justin Timberlake last month recalled visiting the zoo on his
Australian 2004 tour.
"I know he got a lot of flak, but there's something in that dude's blood,
he's like one of those animals," Timberlake told the Courier Mail newspaper.
"We got in the cage and he said, 'I want to show you how the crocs hunt.'
All of a sudden it pops out of the water, we jump back, it came up on the
land and he saw how its temperament was and he told us to step back.
"He's like Dr Dolittle, for real. He knows what those crocodiles are
thinking."
- smh.com.au and AAP
--
Josh Button
Carn the Eels!
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Date: 04 Sep 2006 10:15:46
From: Mark R
Subject: Re: OT - Steve Irwin dead
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"Josh Button" <melandjosh_nospam_@optusnet.com.au > wrote in message
news:44fbde0e$0$5109$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> http://tinyurl.com/zzxj4
> STEVE IRWIN KILLED BY STINGRAY
Words fail me. With a person like Steve you need to celebrate the life, not
mourn the death. Truly a man who knew how to live life.
Mark R
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