A Russian man has died in a shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
Footage of the incident circulating on social media shows Vladimir Popov, 23, desperately struggling on Thursday to fight off the shark in the resort city of Hurghada. Popov has become the latest casualty of rare shark attacks that have crept into Egypt’s Red Sea region in recent years.
Videos by VICE
In an official statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Environment announced a two-day closure of the coastline for swimming and other water sports activities. Authorities also said they have managed to capture the guilty tiger shark and transport it to a laboratory for further investigation.
“A specialised fish hunting team has successfully captured the shark responsible for the tragic incident,” Yasmin Fouad from the Ministry of Environment said in a statement on Facebook. “The examination aims to shed light on the potential factors behind its aggressive behaviour and ascertain whether it is the same species that has been involved in previous attacks.”
The statement also said that local authorities had been directed to “apply all the policies applied globally to achieve the highest levels of safety for visitors to the Red Sea beaches and taking all possible measures to avoid the recurrence of the shark attack incident again.”
The incident has reignited concerns over similar shark attacks along the Red Sea last year, where an Austrian and a Romanian tourist were both killed in the space of three days. The Egyptian authorities attributed the attacks to a “Mako shark” and said the fish was under “examination.”
The popular Egyptian coastline stretches over a thousand kilometres, with its pristine turquoise waters, powdery white-sand beaches, and vibrant coral reefs teeming with marine life. The coastal towns and cities with all-year-round sunshine attract thousands of tourists, and it has become a destination for divers and beach enthusiasts.
The country’s tourism sector has endured a number of setbacks in recent years, including deteriorating security, political instability, deadly terrorist attacks and a shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest shark attack could further impact the number of people heading to the region – a challenge for the Egyptian authorities as they strive to restore confidence in the safety and security of the country’s tourism sector.
