Sharm el-Sheikh SECOND SHARK ATTACK: Tourist killed JUST hours and 600m from where Mako attacked
Two women were killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea, south of the city of Hurghada, the Egyptian environment ministry has said. Hours after the attack that left a 68-year-old Austrian woman who died on Friday, July 1, a Romanian woman in her 40s was killed by a shark on July 3. Both attacks happened within 600 meters of each other, off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh.
The Romanian woman was a tourist in Egypt who was vacationing while she was killed during the deadly shark, Romania's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, July 3. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said it was working to identify the victim, notify the family and see the body repatriated. Egypt's Ministry of Environment said in its statement on Sunday, July 3, that a committee had been formed to examine the circumstances of the attacks and any scientific reasons behind them, the Times of Israel reported.
RELATED ARTICLES
FOURTH OF JULY SHARK ALERT: Authorities ramp up patrols after possible shark attack in Long Island
The governor of the Red Sea Governorate, Major General Amr Hanafi, issued an order to suspend all activity in the area surrounding the attacks with several beaches being closed. All "sea activities" have been banned, including diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kite sailing, and fishing boats. Shark attacks are rare in the area, with the latest incidents believed to be the first since 2020.
Earlier on Friday, a 68-year-old Austrian woman, identified as Elisabeth Sauer, was attacked by a Moka shark while swimming in the Red Sea near the resort town of Hurghada. The woman died after losing an arm and a leg. The 68-year-old woman was transferred to a local private hospital, a source at the Red Sea Health Affairs Directorate reported. He added that there were attempts to resuscitate her, but she died from her injuries. The Austrian woman had been living in Egypt for the past five years with her Egyptian husband the source added.
Egyptian authorities closed off a stretch of the country’s Red Sea coastline on Saturday, July 2, after the Austrian woman died. Fishing boats were also banned from the waters off Hurghada. A video was circulated online to show the attack that killed the Austrian woman, relatively close to the shore, as seen from a nearby pier. In the video, the water around the swimmer turns red from blood as bystanders on the pier throw a flotation device toward her.
Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, including Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, are some of the country’s major beach destinations and are popular with European tourists. Divers are drawn by the steep drop-offs of coral reefs just offshore that offer a rich and colorful sea life. In 2020, a young Ukrainian boy lost an arm and an Egyptian tour guide lost a leg in a shark attack. In 2010, a spate of shark attacks killed one European tourist.