Rumors of Steve Irwin’s death bond resurface on the anniversary of the tragedy

Renewed interest in Steve Irwin’s death has surfaced as fans commemorate the 16th anniversary of his tragic Crocodile Hunter death.

The Australian zookeeper was killed on September 4, 2006 after being stung by a stingray off the Great Barrier Reef. Irwin’s biographer Tommy Donovan previously revealed that the entire incident was caught on tape.

According to Donovan, the video captures the moment Irwin pulls the stingray’s barb out of his chest before losing consciousness and subsequently dying.

Since then there is speculation among fans on whether or not to release the full-length video — with some who claim to have already seen. According to Spiegel, the search interest in the morbid footage increased shortly after the news of his early death.

Donovan has said that Irwin told the cameramen to “always film.”

“If he needs help, he will ask for it. Even if he gets eaten by a shark or a crocodile, what he wants most is for it to be filmed,” recalls Donovan.

“If he died, he’d be sad if nobody got it on tape.”

TV executives eventually opted not to air the footage, saying it was too “shocking”.

“It’s very hard to watch because you’re actually witnessing someone die,” said John Stainton, producer of The Crocodile Hunter, after his friend’s death. So far, only members of Irwin’s family, crew and local police have been confirmed to have seen the horrific footage.

“It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up and goaded him here [in the chest], and he pulled it out and the next minute he’s gone. That was it. The cameraman had to shut down,” Stainton said of the hidden role.

He also demands that the tape be “destroyed.”

“When this finally gets released [from the coroner], it will never see the light of day. je. je. I actually saw it, but I don’t want to see it again,” Stainton told CNN’s Larry King Live in 2006.