A video footage of the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin has been handed over to his wife Terri Irwin to prevent any unauthorized misuse of the environmentalist's final minutes.
The 44-year-old nature lover was fatally stabbed by a stingray at the Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia, on September 4, 2006, while filming a nature documentary.
Queensland coroner Michael Barnes, in a statement, said copies of the video footage had been destroyed to prevent misuse or release over the internet and the sole surviving copy was handed over to the Irwin family at their request.
“Private property is always returned to its owner once the necessary investigations have been completed and we would not normally retain copies of these kinds of exhibits ourselves. The footage has been the subject of widespread media interest and it was wholly appropriate that we took all possible steps to ensure something of such a personal and tragic nature did not fall into the wrong hands. This is in line with the wishes of the Irwin family,” the statement read.
Earlier, Terri Irwin had asserted she would never release the video footage of her husband's death. She was supported by Irwin's other close friends in this.
The footage shows Irwin swimming above a bull ray, which suddenly stabbed the naturist with its barb after he accidentally touched the animal. Irwin managed to pull the barb out of his chest but couldn't keep his consciousness. Many speculate that the pulling out of the barb might have killed Irwin's chances of survival.
Though the death is believed to be an accidental one, investigations are on to establish if an inquest is needed, Barnes said, while refusing to divulge details. “It would be inappropriate to speculate on the finding of the investigation,” he said. The report is likely to be released in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, a road on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland has been named after the deceased Crocodile Hunter. The Glasshouse Mountains Road, on which the Australia Zoo owned by Irwin is located, was christened Steve Irwin Way on January 1 as a tribute to the Australian conservationist.
