Steve Irwin, the Australian wildlife conservationist and television personality, was killed on September 4, 2006, by a stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas, Queensland
. The stingray's barb pierced his chest, penetrating his thoracic wall and heart, causing massive trauma and rapid blood loss that led to his death
. The stingray likely mistook Irwin's shadow for a predator, such as a tiger shark, and attacked him by stabbing wildly with its tail
. Despite efforts by his crew to perform CPR and rush him to medical help, Irwin was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby island
. His death is one of the very few fatal stingray attacks recorded, as stingray injuries are almost never fatal
. The incident was captured on video but has never been publicly released, and the footage of his injury was reportedly destroyed out of respect
. In summary, Steve Irwin died from a fatal chest wound caused by a stingray barb piercing his heart during a filming accident in the Great Barrier Reef
