Stingray kills 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin

[SparticleBrane]

"It's believed Mr Irwin's American-born wife Terri is trekking on Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and has yet to be told of her husband's death."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=127458

 

[Diver Dennis]

Wow SB, that was fast. Sad indeed.

I wonder how a barb could get through to his heart?

 

[Creed]

Gosh, that is a very freak accident...

I would imagine he was holding the ray, as he is wont to do with dangerous animals. That seems like the only way I could imagine that the ray would have enough leverage to do a lot of damage.

 

[almitywife]

according to the guy on the radio, head fish guy at sydney aquarium

the "barb" is like a small kitchen knife and has sharpened sirations (sp) on them and can be about a foot long

fish guy says last time he got stung on the foot he had 5 fits of morphine and was still in pain

the ray can basically twist the tail like a scorpian to get to their victim.

if the barb pierced the heart, steve had no chance

 

[JDog]

So sad to hear of Steve's untimely death.

 

[Rainer]

Very sad. I assume we'll learn more once the film is looked at.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Yes, this is a link to info about Stingray deaths. Scary.

http://www.potamotrygon.de/fremdes/stingray article.htm

 

[JodiBB]

This isn't another hoax is it? Steve Irwin's been reported dead before... several times in fact.

Doesn't appear to be so...cnn.com is reporting it on their home page as well.

How awful!!!!! :shakehead

 

[MoonWrasse]

44, at least he died doing what he loved to do.

I wonder how big of a stingray it was?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...inment/e214717D03.DTL&hw=irwin&sn=001&sc=1000

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_en_tv/obit_irwin

 

[archman]

Just out of curiosity arch, how did it happen to you?

I see that wikipedia says that it's not the "venom" it's severing an artery that can cause death.

In my case I was drift-floating in about 18 inches of water around a mangrove island in Florida, and came directly underneath a large southern stingray. I couldn't move at all without hitting the bottom. The current literally floated me right over it's spine... if I'd have panicked and tried to sit up, I would have pinned the ray and gotten impaled in the chest. I brushed the top of the ray with my belly at one point, regardless. I'm surprised the thing didn't bolt, or stab me.

If Steve somehow got too close to the top of a ray, and the ray got leverage, it could have easily spined him.