Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter", well-known to Malaysians for his TV wildlife documentaries, is dead after being attacked by a stingray in the Great Barrier Reef during the filming of a new TV series.
The 44-year-old's heart is believed to have been pierced by the stingray's barb.
He was filming an underwater documentary at Batt Reef near the Low Isles, about 32 nautical miles off Port Douglas, north Queensland, when the tragedy occurred.
According to a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman, an ambulance chopper made an emergency flight to an island in the area just after 11am Monday.
An intensive care doctor and a paramedic attempted to treat the popular crocodile wrangler who had a puncture wound in the left side of his chest but without success.
He was pronounced dead on the island, and his body is now being flown to Cairns.
Professor Geoff Jones, of James Cook University's Marine Biology Department, said he did not want to speculate on what Irwin was doing when struck by the stingray but that it must have been unusual.
He said it was possible the barb alone, regardless of the stingray's toxin, had been responsible for the death.
"It's a bit like being stabbed with a bayonet," he said. "If it stays in, you can survive, but if it's withdrawn, whipped in and out, then I don't think you can survive the bleeding."
Irwin, known worldwide as the Crocodile Hunter, is famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry "Crikey!".
He had also starred in movies and developed the Australia Zoo wildlife park, north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin.
Irwin and his wife Terri have two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, eight, and son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin, three. The family was trekking in Tasmania when the death occurred.
Bob was involved in a controversial incident in January 2004, when his father dangled him near a crocodile at Australia Zoo.
Child welfare and animal rights groups criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse.
Irwin said any danger to his son was only a perceived one and that he was in complete control of the situation.
In June 2004, Irwin came under fire again when it was alleged he came too close to and disturbed some whales, seals and penguins while filming a documentary in Antarctica.
Interacting with Antarctic wildlife in a disapproved manner may be a breach of Australian federal and international laws. But the issue ended without charges being filed.
What a loss to us.... will remember Steven Irwin always for his contribution to the animal world... I have watch his documentary shows many times, cant quite believe he is gone.... He is a great person....
