Steve Irwin's Death Caught on Cam? Talks About Crocodile Hunter Tragic Passing Renewed
Steve Irwin's biographer revealed that there is truly a videotape of his last moments before and after a sting ray killed him 16 years ago.
On Sep. 4, 2006, Irwin, a famed zookeeper who was famously known as Crocodile Hunter, died after being stung by a stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef. Although the question of whether or not his team captured the incident, his biographer confirmed that the entire event was caught on tape.
New York Post quoted Tommy Donovan's previous statement, saying that the camera captured the time when Irwin pulled the stingray's barb from his chest. Unfortunately, he lost consciousness soon after pulling it.
Irwin died afterward.
According to Donovan, Irwin always told the camera operators to always film him.
"If he needs help he will ask for it. Even if he is eaten by a shark or croc, the main thing he wants is that it be filmed. If he died, he would be sad if no one got it on tape," he went on.
After his untimely death, The Mirror noted a spike in search interest for the footage. Fans also started speculating whether it would be released to the public or not.
Unfortunately, TV executives decided not to air the morbid footage since it was "shocking" to be watched.
Steve Irwin's Death Footage "Horrifying"
"The Crocodile Hunter" producer John Stainton shared a similar sentiment, saying that it is hard to watch since it captured how a person actually died.
As of press time, only Irwin's family and police are the ones who have seen the video.
Instead of showing the clip, Stainton described the event instead, saying that Irwin swam over the top of the ray. However, its tail came up and spiked him in the chest.
After he took his last breath, the cameraman shut down the camera.
The producer also urged the deletion of the tape, telling CNN's "Larry King Live" in 2006 that he never wanted to see it again. A few tears later, the copies of the aforesaid video were indeed destroyed except for one in possession of his widow.
Irwin's wife then destroyed it without trying to watch it.
When the event happened, cameraman Justin Lyons still tried to revive him by bringing him back to the boat. He reportedly told him to hang on and think of his kids.
But even if they made it to the emergency room, Lyons said Irwin would not survive because of the massive damage his heart sustained.
