A man almost suffered a fatal blow when he was punctured in the abdomen by a stingray on a Kāpiti Coast beach.

Construction company Rockhard Civil and Drainage posted on their Facebook about the encounter, saying their project manager, Jeremy Bain, decided to “replicate Steve Irwin”.

“While training for a surf lifesaving event he accidentally started a wrestle with a stingray,” the post said.

“The stingray stabbed him in the abdomen, very narrowly missing his vital organs.”

The post confirmed Bain was improving after a short stay in hospital, and was “rather upset his brand new wetsuit got cut off him”.

“If you see him out on-site, give him a strong ‘Crikey’ callout.”

Rockhard Civil and Drainage's Jeremy Bain was taken to hospital after a stingray stabbed him in the stomach. Photo / Rockhard Civil and Drainage