Red Sea
Swimmer killed by shark in Egyptian resort of Hurghada
A tiger shark in the Red Sea off Egypt (archive image): A fatal incident occurred in Hurghada
© Imago Images
A man has died after a shark attack in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada on the Red Sea. According to the authorities, the fish was caught later and the cause of the incident is being investigated.
A man has been killed in a shark attack off the coast of the Egyptian resort of Hurghada in the Red Sea. “A tiger shark attacked a beach visitor and killed him,” Egypt’s Environment Ministry wrote on Facebook on Thursday. The shark was caught. It was said that he had exhibited “conspicuous” behavior that led to the attack.
According to Russian media, the dead man is a Russian citizen born in 1999. “The victim was not a tourist but had permanent residence in Egypt,” Consul General Viktor Voropayev told the Russian news agency TASS.
Videos purporting to show the shark attack have been circulating online, showing a human attempting to escape from the predator. Local media reported that a boat was still trying to rescue the man, who was frantically screaming for help. However, the boat was not able to approach him fast enough.
Shark attacks are rare in the Red Sea
The shark was attracted by waste, the media reported, citing local authorities. Cattle dealers are said to have thrown dead animals into the sea. Sharks therefore eat the carcasses, which are often washed up on the coast. There they sometimes confuse the prey with swimming people and therefore attack them, it was said. According to the ministry, the beach was closed for two days.
The Red Sea is a popular tourist destination in Egypt. Although sharks are plentiful, attacks on people in the bathing areas are relatively rare. Last July, an Austrian and a Romanian woman were killed in a shark attack off the coast of Hurghada. A Czech tourist died in a shark attack in 2018, a German in 2015 and a German in 2010.
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