9th June 2023 – (Cairo) A Russian man has died after being mauled by a shark off one of Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, according to authorities from both Egypt and Russia. The attack occurred on Thursday, with the man being attacked by a tiger shark in the waters near the city of Hurghada. The Egyptian environment ministry closed off a 46-mile stretch of coastline after the attack, announcing that it would remain off-limits until Sunday. The ministry later caught the shark responsible and is examining it in a laboratory to determine the reasons for the rare attack.
The Russian consulate in Hurghada identified the man as a Russian citizen, but did not provide his name. According to Russia’s Tass state news agency, the person killed was a Russian man born in 1999 who lived in Egypt full-time and was not a tourist. A video purporting to show the attack has been circulating online, showing a man thrashing about in the water before being repeatedly attacked by a shark circling around him, then being dragged under.
A diver who arrived at the scene just after the attack said people had rushed to help the victim after a lifeguard from a nearby hotel raised the alarm but were not able to reach him in time.
Shark attacks are rare in the Red Sea coastal regions. In 2022, however, two women, one Austrian and one Romanian, were killed within days of each other in shark attacks at Hurghada.