Two Women Killed in Shark Attack Off Egypt's Red Sea Coast

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Two women died in a shark attack at the Egyptian resort of Hurghada on the Red Sea coast, prompting the regional governor to shut beaches, the Ministry of Environment said on Saturday.

"Two women were attacked by a shark while swimming in the Sahl Hasheesh area, south of Hurghada," a statement attributed to Environmental Minister Yasmine Fouad said.

The death of an Austrian woman from shark bites was reported on Friday. The tourist had her arm and leg torn off and died from blood loss in a hospital.

A video is circulating online purportedly depicting the aftermath of the gory attack.

WARNING SHARK ATTACK: Tourist Killed in #Egypt

A woman has succumbed to her injuries after a shark attack in Hurghada. A number of people attempted to help the woman out of the water using ropes, while others stood in shock or just filmed the incident. pic.twitter.com/uqHVzEaYDL

— MOCez🇷🇺🇱🇾🇮🇶🇾🇪🇨🇳🇵🇰🇵🇸🇸🇾🇮🇳🇮🇷🇰🇵 (@Mousacisse1) July 2, 2022

The ministry said a team of experts was working to identify the "causes of the shark’s behavior that led to the two casualties."

"The Ministry of Environment apologizes for the accident and offers its deepest condolences to the families of the victims," it added.

Shark attacks on swimmers happened in the area in the past but these are the first such incidents in a few years. A German woman died and four other tourists were injured in a spate of attacks in 2010, another German was killed in 2015 and a Czech in 2018.