Bindi Irwin is desperately fighting to keep photos of her “Crocodile Hunter” father’s last moments from being leaked onto the Internet!
It’s been nine years since Steve Irwin was tragically killed by a giant stingray while filming his TV show off the coast of Australia. But images of his gruesome death have surfaced — and Bindi is furiously trying to have them destroyed!
“This is Bindi’s worst nightmare,” a source told The ENQUIRER.
“Seeing those photos would be more than she could bear. She’d collapse in emotional agony.
“She’s vowed to go to war with anyone who tries to publish them!”
Bindi continues to hide her torment behind sunny smiles while competing on “Dancing With the Stars” with professional dancer Derek Hough, but she revealed her secret heartache in a touching TV tribute on Oct. 5.
“Dad is always with me. I carry him in my heart,” she said on the show.
“For the rest of my life, I’ll feel like he’s going to come home.”
But the chilling pictures from the scene of her father’s death drive home the impossibility of that dream!
The shocking images show 44-year-old Steve standing on the ocean bed with blood flowing from his chest — stabbed in the heart by an eight-foot ray’s jagged barbed tail!
Bindi, 17, her mom, Terri, 51, and 11-year-old brother Robert have lived in fear that the chilling images shot in 2006 will end up online.
Those worries intensified when camera operator Justin Lyons provided graphic details of the Croc Hunter’s final moments to an Australian TV audience last year, sparking renewed interest in the tragedy.
He revealed Steve had almost completed filming for the day, but wanted one final shot of himself swimming behind the giant stingray.
“Justin didn’t realize Steve was in trouble and kept filming,” said a source.
“But then he saw blood spreading through the water. Steve’s last words were, ‘I’m dying!’”
While the cameraman vowed never to release the footage, an Irwin family insider explained: “Sadly, the video appears to have been taken without permission and copied.
“It was under lock and key for years. No one knows who would cash in on Steve’s death.”
Added another close family friend, “Bindi’s furious and wants the footage destroyed.
“She’s appealing to Internet companies not to post photos or video if it’s offered. She’s begging them to let her dad rest in peace!”
