Steve Irwin's manager, John Stainton, has spoken about the stingray attack that killed the popular television star.
Stainton told reporters yesterday that video footage shows Irwin swimming above the stingray on the Great Barrier Reef when it lashed out and speared him through the chest with its barb.
He said: "It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest)."
"He pulled it out and the next minute he's gone. The cameraman had to shut down," Stainton said.
"It's a very hard thing to watch because you're actually witnessing somebody die... it's terrible."
"There's been a million occasions where both of us held our breath and thought we were lucky to get out of that one," Stainton said. "But he just seemed to have a charmed life."
Australian Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to Irwin yesterday, saying: "He was a genuine, one-off, remarkable Australian individual and I am distressed at his death."
"We mourn his loss, we're devastated by the tragic circumstances in which he has been taken from us and we send our love and prayers to his grieving family."
Actor Russell Crowe said that Irwin was the "ultimate wildlife warrior".
"He was the Australian we all aspire to be. He touched my heart. I believed in him. I'll miss him," Crowe said.
