The Egyptian ministry posted on Facebook on Sunday that “two women were attacked by a shark while swimming” in the Sahl Hasheesh region of the Red Sea, south of Hurghada, and that both perished.
One of the women was a 68-year-old tourist from Austria’s Tyrol region who was in Egypt, according to the Austrian news agency APA.
Without providing any other information, Austria’s foreign ministry told the media on Sunday that “one Austrian person” had died in Egypt.
The foreign ministry of Romania reported to the media on Sunday “the death of a Romanian person” that “looked” to have been brought on by a “shark attack” off Hurghada, citing information obtained from Egyptian authorities.
Amr Hanafi, the governor of the Red Sea, had on Friday ordered a three-day closure of all local beaches after “an Austrian tourist had her left arm torn off, apparently in a shark attack.”
Social media users posted a video showed a swimmer struggling before what appeared to be a pool of blood formed around her on Friday. The validity, date, and location of the video could not be independently verified by AFP.
The environment ministry announced on Sunday that a task group is investigating “the scientific causes and conditions of the attack” and “the reasons behind the shark’s behaviour that led in the incident.”
Sharks are plentiful in the Red Sea, a famous tourist attraction, but they rarely attack anyone who are swimming within the allowed boundaries.
A shark off a Red Sea beach killed a Czech visitor in 2018. A German visitor was slain in a similar attack in 2015.
One German tourist was killed and four other foreign visitors were injured in a series of five incidents that occurred in five days in 2010 unusually near to the shore of Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular tourist destination.
Egypt is currently battling rising inflation and a depreciating currency.
The Red Sea, which brings in about 65 percent of all tourists to the nation, is a major source of income for the nation’s tourism industry.
Over the past ten years, the tourism sector has suffered numerous setbacks, including the country’s revolt in 2011, the subsequent turmoil, and the coronavirus pandemic.
