In the early afternoon of 4 September 2006, Irwin was fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray barb off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia while filming an underwater documentary.
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. local time (01:00 UTC), Irwin was filming in the Low Isles near Port Douglas, north of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, where he was stung either through his heart [7] or through the left side of his chest[8] and suffered cardiac arrest. [9] After he was stung, his crew called for medical help and the Queensland Rescue Helicopter responded, taking him to Cairns Base Hospital.[10] However, Irwin was immediately pronounced dead at the scene.[11] The Queensland Police Service notified his family and released a statement for the media concerning the event. Ironically Irwin was known for handling dangerous animals, but stingrays rarely attack humans.