We reported earlier today the extremely sad news about the Death of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin.

John Stainton, a good friend and producer of Steve Irwin’s Film Company, Best Picture, held a press conference outlining the circumstances of Steve’s untimely death and the events that surrounded it. A very emotional Mr. Stainton said that he had lost a very dear and close friend.

“Today the world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest Dad’s on the planet. He died doing what he loved best, he left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind, he would’ve said ‘crocs rule’,” he said.

The accident occured when Steve and his team were filming a new documentary, ironically titled ‘Ocean’s Deadliest’ at Batt Reef off the coast of the resort town of Port Douglas

“Steve decided to shoot a couple of segments for a new TV show that he’s doing with his daughter Bindi and, with the cameramen, went out on to the reef at Batt Reef to do a little segment on stingrays. He came over the top of the stingray… and the stingray’s barb went up and went into his chest and put a hole into his heart.”

Mr. Stainton said the team responded quickly to get Steve back to his research vessel Croc 1 and then on to Low Isles where they were to meet an emergency rescue team.

“We were doing constant CPR trying to resuscitate him… when we got there it was probably ten to twelve and by twelve o’clock when the emergency crew arrived they pronounced him dead.”

Mr. Stainton said that his personal and professional relationship with Steve had been one of many years.

“He was one of my best, closest friends, we’ve been together for 20 years, we’ve been shooting documentaries for fifteen years, I’ve never known a more professional man in my life and a more passionate person on wildlife and conservation issues.”

Mr. Stainton believes that the poor weather experienced in the far north may have been, in part, the cause of Steve Irwin’s death.

“One problem Steve had was that he couldn’t sit still for five seconds and because the weather was bad today and for the last couple of days, he’d been like a caged lion because he hadn’t really been able to do anything too much and he said ‘look I might just go off and shoot some segments’… anything that would keep him moving and his adrenaline going and that’s what happened… and the next thing I heard on the radio was that there was a medical emergency and the little dinghy was bringing him back with the crew… everyone tried absolutely tirelessly to revive him, to keep him alive.”