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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
David Kent & Saffron Otter

Strange mystery of Steve Irwin's death video that caught last moments on camera

It's been a massive 16 years since we lost one of the all-time greats in the form of Steve Irwin.

The Australian, known for being the Crocodile Hunter, died after being stabbed in the heart by a stingray whilst doing what he loved best.

The events of September 4, 2006 caused an enormous outpouring of grief from Steve's friends, family and millions of fans around the globe - though some did take it too far by attacking stingrays in the immediate wake of the tragic incident.

READ MORE: Community rallies to bring home young Irish man who suffered 'irreversible brain damage' while on holiday in Gran Canaria

"Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin hold his baby son, Bob, while feeding a giant crocodile, (Reuters)

While Steve grappled with crocodiles, snakes and sharks, he had one rule that the cameras must be kept rolling - and his final moments were no different.

"He tells his camera crew to always be filming," his 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."

But in a cruel twist, Steve wasn't supposed to be swimming on the afternoon he died, as his programme Ocean's Deadliest was called off due to bad weather.

He instead head out on the water with cameraman Justin Lyons and director John Stainton in search of footage that could be used for his daughter's show instead - Bindi the Jungle Girl.

Bindi (centre) is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin (left) and Terri Irwin (right) (bindisueirwin/Instagram)

John said at the time: "Suddenly he said he [Steve] was off to seek out some normally harmless stingrays.

"It should have been an innocent encounter for a TV show aimed at children."

The naturalist spotted a 220lb ray lying on the ocean floor and with Justin, climbed into the chest-deep water.

They expected the usually placid creature to swim away as they approached, giving them the perfect shot.

However when the Crocodile Hunter passed over the creature, it raised its razor-sharp tail, stabbing him 'hundreds of strikes in a few seconds'.

Bindi and Robert Irwin celebrate in their father's memory on Steve Irwin Day (Splash)

Not realising the severity of the attack, Justin continued to film, but when he panned back to Steve and saw him surrounded by a pool of blood, he knew something had gone very wrong.

"He was having trouble breathing. 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," Justin said.

"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.'"

Perhaps knowing his injuries were far more serious than suspected, the cameras even caught the heartbreaking moment Steve turned to Justin and calmly said, "I'm dying" - which would have been his final words.

"The Crocodile Hunter", Steve Irwin, poses with a three foot long alligator at the San Francisco Zoo on June 26, 2002 in San Francisco, California. Irwin is on a 3-week tour to promote the release of his first feature film, "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course", due in theaters July 12th. (gettyimages.ie)

In the days that followed, the tape was handed over to Queensland Police to help with their investigations.

John Stainton said it was too disturbing to ever be shown

"I mean, it should be destroyed," he told CNN's Larry King Live.

"When that is finally released [from the coroner], it will never see the light of day. Ever. Ever. I actually saw it, but I don't want to see it again."

But this didn't stop millions of people from trying to search for the harrowing footage online.

In 2007, the authorities said they had destroyed all but one copy, which they gave to Steve's devastated widow, Terri.

She had always known of her husband's desire to have his death filmed, but for her, its existence was too much and she destroyed it without ever watching it.

Terri told You magazine in 2018: "After Steve died, 100 million viewers watched a video of his death that was released on YouTube.

"That film was a complete fabrication exploiting people’s sadness. I have never watched the real footage. Why would I? I know how my husband died and I was relieved that the children weren’t on the boat as they usually would be; it would have been horrendous if they had witnessed it."

However, according to Terri, there is still a copy sitting in a dusty police vault somewhere.

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