Egypt probes fatal shark attacks off Red Sea coast

ANKARA

Egyptian authorities have launched an investigation into the death of two tourists in shark attacks, an incident that caused the closure of beaches on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.

Footage captured during a sea cruise showed a 68-year-old Australian woman struggling in the water, which turned red with blood in the resort of Sahl Hasheed, near the city of Hurghada.

The authenticity of the video could not be verified by Anadolu Agency.

A Romanian woman in her 40s also lost her life in another shark attack in the same area.

Following the incident, Red Sea Governor, Maj-Gen. Amr Hanafi, ordered a suspension of all tourist activities near the site of the shark attacks.

Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad ordered a joint committee of specialists in Red Sea protectorates and Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) to “identify reasons and circumstances behind the attacks,” according to Egypt’s flagship Ahram newspaper.

Shark attacks have been relatively rare in Egypt’s Red Sea coastal region in recent years.

In 2020, a young Ukrainian boy lost an arm and an Egyptian tour guide a leg in a shark attack.

In 2018, a shark killed a Czech tourist off a Red Sea beach. A German tourist was killed in a similar attack in 2015.

In 2010, various shark attacks killed a European tourist and maimed several others off Sharm El-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula across the Red Sea from Hurghada.