CBC (Toronto, Ontario) 04 September 06 Australia's 'Crocodile Hunter' dies in stingray attack
Steve Irwin, the man known around the world as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after a stingray attack off the Great Barrier Reef.
Irwin, 44, had been filming a documentary off Port Douglas in northern Queensland when he was killed by a stingray barb through the heart.
He was rushed to hospital by helicopter, but he died before they arrived.
Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword "Crikey!" in his television program "Crocodile Hunter." First broadcast in Australia in 1992, the program was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.
Carmel Robertson, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, told CBC News that Australians are in shock.
"People can't believe that the man they thought was quite invincible is dead," she said.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has expressed his condolences to Irwin's family and said the country had lost a "wonderful and colourful son."
Irwin made news headlines in 2004 after involving his infant son in one of his crocodile stunts.
Irwin held his son Bob, who was a month old at the time, in one arm while he dangled a piece of chicken over the snapping jaws of a four-metre crocodile.
He later acknowledged that he would have done things differently and officials in Australia's Queensland state decided not to file charges against him.
Australia's 'Crocodile Hunter' dies in stingray attack
