Irwin, 44, was killed when the serrated barb of a stingray’s tail pierced his heart while he was filming near the Great Barrier Reef on Monday (04.09.06).

At a press conference held outside Irwin’s Australia Zoo, in Queensland, on Wednesday (06.09.06) fellow adventurer Bob Irwin told journalists: “Steve and I weren’t like father and son, we never were.

“We were good mates. I’ll remember Steve as my best mate ever.”

He added: “Both of us over the years have had some very close shaves.

“We made jokes of it. That’s not to say that we were careless but we treated it like it was just part oof the job.”

Australian officials have suggested a state funeral to commemorate the gung-ho wildlife expert, however, Bob says that’s the last think Steve would have wanted.

He explained: “The state funeral would be refused because he’s an ordinary guy, he’s just an ordinary bloke.

Bob also said his son - who pulled the stingray’s tail out of his own chest before he lost his fight for life - said Steve had died doing something he loved.

He mused: “That’s a lot better than getting hit by a bus. But there is no comfort for me at this stage in anything at all.”

(c) BANG Media International.

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