Cameraman recalls "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's last words

Steve Irwin, known around the world as the crocodile hunter, was killed by a stingray more than seven years ago, off the Northeastern coast of Australia while diving with cameraman Justin Lyons.

Irwin had made a career out of close encounters with dangerous animals and when he died, he was filming a documentary called "Oceans' Deadliest."

"It was only when I panned the camera back that I saw Steve standing in a huge pool of blood," said Lyons.

They got back in the boat and that's when Lyons saw the two inch wide gash over his friend's heart.

"They've got a venom on their barb, so I'm sure it was excruciatingly painful," he said. "He had an extraordinary threshold for pain, so I knew that when he was in pain it must have been painful."

"I was saying to him things like 'Think of your kids Steve. Hang on. Hang on. Hang on,'" said Lyons. "And he just sort of calmly looked up at me and said 'I'm dying.' And that was the last thing he said."

Irwin grew up on his parents' wildlife park and spent his life surrounded by animals. Since his death, his wife and children have carried on his work in wildlife conservation.

To see Daniel Sutton's full report, watch the video in the player above