At about 11:00 a.m. Australian eastern standard time (01:00 UTC) on 4 September 2006, Irwin was cut in the chest by the tail of a stingray (a large sea animal) while snorkeling (a way of swimming using a tube to help you breathe under water) in Batt Reef, near Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia. He died from the wound. At the time, Irwin was being recorded for a television show, "The Ocean's Deadliest". Bad weather had stopped recording and Irwin took the time to record some different pictures for another program. Irwin's friend, John Stainton, was on Irwin's boat. Stainton says Irwin swam too near to one of the animals - "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb "(a point on the stingrays' tail)" went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart". His wife (Terri Irwin) did not find out about his death until a few hours later because she was trekking in Tasmania.