All video footage showing Australia’s ”Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin dying from a stingray barb to the heart will be destroyed now that it is no longer needed by investigators, Irwin’s manager said.
The footage, in which Irwin is seen being attacked by the stingray and then trying to remove the barb from his chest, was returned to his widow, Terri Irwin, last month.
Irwin’s long-time manager and friend John Stainton, one of the few to have viewed the video, said he was pleased the coroner had seen fit to return the original and destroy two copies.
”I am very happy about the decision — it was the best outcome for everyone,” Stainton told the Australian newspaper on Friday. He also said the original film would soon be destroyed. ”It will be destroyed, totally destroyed, never to be seen.”
The tape, which reportedly shows Irwin snorkelling above the stingray before it whipped its tail into him, had reportedly attracted interest from internet websites willing to pay up to $1-million for the film.
The Australian coroner investigating the case, Michael Barnes, said he had taken ”all possible steps to ensure something of such a personal and tragic nature did not fall into the wrong hands”.
Wildlife television star Irwin (44) was killed while he was diving on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in September.
The self-proclaimed ”wildlife warrior”, who had won a worldwide following with his Crocodile Hunter series, was being filmed for a documentary at the time.
The coronial investigation into Irwin’s death, likely to be made public within weeks, is expected to find his death was accidental. — Sapa-AFP