A shaken John Stainton - who was Irwin's producer and director - said the mates had held discussions over fears the internationally-loved TV star and naturalist could be killed in the water.

"If ever he was going to go, we always said it was going to be the ocean, because there is another element,'' Mr Stainton said.

"On land he was agile, quick-thinking, quick-moving and the ocean puts another element there that you have no control over. We've had conversations over the years about it.

Mr Stainton spoke about the Crocodile Hunter's last moments, captured on "shocking" footage of the bull ray attack at Batt Reef. He said Irwin had swum over the ray, which flicked its tail up and plunged the barb into the star's chest.

A cameraman captured the incident during filming for Irwin's new project with daughter Bindi, eight, that was to debut in the US next year. The film has been handed to police.

"I did see the footage and it's shocking,'' Mr Stainton said today.

"It's a very hard thing to watch because you're actually witnessing somebody die ... and it's terrible.''
Irwin had carved a career out of flirting with the world's most dangerous creatures, both on land and in the sea, Mr Stainton said.

The footage of yesterday's incident showed Irwin removing the barb from his chest before losing consciousness.

"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him here (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," said Mr Stainton. "That was it. The cameraman had to shut down.

"(Steve was) probably a metre coming over the top of it,'' he said. "He was underwater. I think, and the coroner's report will say what happened, but I think he died fairly instantly.''

Peter West, who runs Irwin's research boat Croc One, added: "Something happened with this animal that made it rear and he was at the wrong position at the wrong time and if it hit him anywhere else we would not be talking about a fatality."

Mr Stainton said he had struggled to come to terms with the fact a stingray, one of the ocean's most placid creatures, had claimed his friend's life.

"There's been a million occasions where both of us held our breath and thought we were lucky to get out of that one,'' he said. "But he just seemed to have a charmed life.

"He was always on the precipice,'' he said. "He always pushed himself to the very limits but I thought he was invulnerable and I think he did too.

"I think we all had that belief that we'd pull through whatever situation we were in and he has been in some very close shaves with snakes and crocodiles. I would never imagine it to come from something like a stingray.''

Mr Stainton said father-of-two Irwin told him prior to leaving to film at the Reef - where they were doing a documentary about deadly sea creatures as well as Bindi's show - last week that the month leading up to the trip had been the "best month of my life''.

Irwin had been involved in ground-breaking crocodile research in Queensland's Lakefield National Park since late July.

"Steve said to me on the boat, on Croc One, at the end of the Lakefield research trip, as we were leaving to go out for this doco, he just said to me, 'John, I've had the best month of my life','' Mr Stainton said.

"I said 'Gee, that's a big statement Steve'. He said, 'No, it's the best month of my life' and that's great.''

Mr Stainton said Irwin missed a call from wife Terri, who was with their children Bindi, eight, and Bob, two, in Tasmania, on Father's Day.

He said Irwin had several projects looming over the next six months, including an Imax 3D film, and was about to be named as an Australian Tourism Commission ambassador for the next three years.

Irwin's wife and two children rushed from the Tasmanian wilderness to their Queensland home last night. Mr Stainton said Mrs Irwin is putting on a brave front.

"I think she's being very strong,'' Mr Stainton said. "I think for the children's sake she has to be strong because they're at a very impressionable age, as you know.

"Bindi's eight and little Robert's coming up to three, so he may not totally understand but Bindi certainly does.

"She's very mindful of how she has to control her emotions to get the kids through it.''

Mrs Irwin is at the family home on the Sunshine Coast with her children where they will receive IRwin's casket.

Irwin's family had been hiking more than 4000km away near Cradle Mountain when tragedy struck.

They flew out of Devonport to the Sunshine Coast on a chartered flight shortly after 5pm.

Bindi clutched a blanket and stayed close to her mother, while her younger brother Bob skipped ahead as the family walked across the tarmac to their aircraft.

The accident happened just after 11am yesterday. Irwin's film crew hauled him on to Croc One and made a futile attempt to revive him.

Helicopter-born paramedics also tried but he is believed to have died from a heart attack caused by severe blood loss.

"It became clear fairly soon he had non-survivable injuries," said Dr Ed O'Loughlin, who was aboard the rescue helicopter.

The news of Irwin's death blazed around the world, especially in the US, where he had found fame and fortune as an adventurer and naturalist.

Melbourne-born Irwin was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchcry, "Crikey!"

The Crocodile Hunter program was first broadcast in 1992 and has been shown around the world on Discovery Network.

He has also starred in movies and developed the Australia Zoo wildlife park, north of Brisbane, which was started by his parents Bob and Lyn Irwin in 1970.

Legendary marine documentary maker Ben Cropp said last night he had spoken directly to one of Irwin's crew after the tragedy: "He was swimming alongside a bull ray, a big black ray and the cameraman would have been in front, filming him.

"It went into a defensive mode, stopped, turned around and lashed out with its tail – which has a considerable spike on it. Steve was in its path and took a fatal wound."