This Thursday, June 8, a Russian died after a shark attack off the Egyptian city of Hurghada. The shark was near the Red Sea, according to police authorities. “The attack of a shark on a man […] resulted in his death”, can be read on the Facebook account of the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment. No other details were provided.
Russian media said the victim was a Russian in his twenties. Russian Consul General Viktor Voropayev told Russia’s official Tass news agency that Egyptian authorities had confirmed the death of a Russian national born in 1999.
“The victim was not a tourist, but a permanent resident of Egypt,” he told the agency. In a video showing the incident posted on social media, a person appears to be struggling to escape a shark.
Egypt’s environment ministry said the shark was caught and its examination revealed “abnormal behavior […] which caused the incident.” He added that swimming and water games would be suspended for two days from Friday.
The Red Sea is an important tourist destination in Egypt. Sharks are not rare there, but very rarely attack swimmers if they do not exceed the authorized limits.
In July 2022, two tourists, an Austrian and a Romanian, were killed by a shark near Hurghada. In 2018, a Czech tourist was killed by a shark off an Egyptian beach in the Red Sea, as were a German in 2015 and a German woman in 2010.
