Sad reason Steve Irwin’s cameraman was forced to film Crocodile Hunter’s tragic death
Beloved crocodile hunter Steve Irwin had one rule for his camera crew who filmed the moment he died.
The Aussie icon sadly passed away on 4 September, 2006, after he was attacked by a stingray when filming near Port Douglas, Queensland.
Despite paramedics getting him to shore to perform CPR, Irwin died before reaching the hospital.
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The father-of-two - who was just 44 when he died - was filming for TV show Ocean's Deadliest.
Footage of the incident was immediately sent to authorities to help with their investigation.
But following the requests of Irwin's close family, the tapes have never seen the light of day.
Investigators destroyed the tapes they were given in 2007 and there is reportedly only copy remaining.
The tapes would not have been available if it wasn't for Irwin's one rule he always told his camera crew, which was to keep filming.
"He tells his camera crew to always be filming," Irwin's IMDb biographer Tommy Donovan once said.
"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."
Irwin's best friend and director, John Stainton, said at the time the tape would never be made public.
"When that is finally released [after being investigated], it will never see the light of day. Ever. Ever," Stainton told CNN host Larry King in 2006.
"I actually saw it, but I don't want to see it again.
"I would never want that tape shown."
On the day of the tragic incident, Irwin was filming with Justin Lyons, who joined him on many of his expeditions for over 10 years.
Sharing the details of the fatal stingray attack, he told Daily Mail Australia: "[Irwin] swam up right over his tail. Instead of swimming off, [the bull ray] propped himself on the front of its wings and pushed his rear end up and started madly stabbing with his tail towards Steve.
"The water boiled with bubbles, thrashing and whatnot. The entire time I was locked on Steve. I didn't know what was going on, I could see it was trying to stab Steve and he was pushing him away but it was over in about 10-15 seconds.
"The stingray swam off so I panned to film Steve swimming away.
"It wasn't until I panned back and the water around him was already filling with blood that I realised he had passed."
Irwin leaves behind two children, Robert and Bindi, who he had with his wife Terri.
Topics: Celebrity, Steve Irwin, Australia, TV and Film, Animals
Anish Vij