Egypt SHARK ATTACK: Woman, 68, killed by MAKO as horrified family looked on helpless
A woman has lost her life after reportedly being savagely attacked by a shark in Sahl Hasheesh, a popular bay on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, near Hurghada. The woman was 68-year-old and tried hard to save herself while the predator bit her legs and arms. The horrific incident was reportedly witnessed by her family as well as several other tourists. The Austrian woman, from Kramsach, Tyrol apparently married to an Egyptian man, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance when she died due to “shock”. Authorities closed beaches in the area after the incident, but they have since reopened.
There were some Russian tourists as well who filmed the attack, the video of which showed the victim attempting to swim back to the shore. The water was reportedly filled with her blood at the time. Some reports said people just watched the tragedy unfolding in front of their eyes, while some reports claimed they did their best to “distract the shark from the victim”.
Local media have reported that the shark in question was a Mako shark. This can reach a length of about two to four meters and a weight of 590 kilograms. A mako shark can swim up to 70 kmh. ISAF statistics records nine shortfin Mako attacks on humans between 1580 and 2017, one of which was fatal, along with 20 boat attacks. According to some sources most modern attacks involving shortfin mako sharks are considered to have been provoked due to harassment or the shark being caught on a fishing line.
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One Russian tourist said as reported by The Sun, “People are rushing out of the sea. There's no ambulance, there's no one helping her. She's got no arm - up to her elbow. The shark grabbed her and twisted her around.” Another Egyptian witness mentioned, “The pensioner was swimming in the Sahl Hasheesh area, south of the resort of Hurghada, on Friday. She was attacked by a shark which bit off her arm and leg. She tried to reach shore on her own….”
They concluded, “Medics arrived and took her to hospital. Along the way the doctors performed resuscitation measures, but her heart was not restarted. The woman died in the ambulance from painful shock.” Another one added, “Doctors fought for her life for a long time, giving her cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but she could not be saved.”
Similar to this incident, a swimmer lost his life in February while swimming at Buchan Point, near Little Bay toward Sydney's east. Simon Nellist was a British expat and was about to marry his girlfriend but got killed by a shark. A friend of Nellist said at the time, “Him and Jessie were due to get married last year but that got put off because of Covid. It’s just horrendous. We spent most of yesterday just hoping and praying it wasn’t him. It’s still incredibly raw,” before mentioning, “Simon was amazing. That’s all there is to say really. He was just the best. He was the nicest, kindest human. It is a huge loss. In the last couple of years we haven’t been able to see him because of the Covid situation.”
The pal added: “He was massively into wildlife and knew exactly what he was doing. He wasn’t daft. It’s just a freak accident. Simon was doing his diving and he would send us the most amazing videos of the wildlife out there. He was so respectful of the wildlife. He finished in the RAF about six years ago and he went traveling and then just fell in love with it out there. Then he fell in love with Jessie. I know he did some pretty big tours with the RAF.”