5 Dec 2010

Shark kills German tourist swimming in Red Sea

A shark has killed a German tourist swimming near the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. It follows a string of attacks in the same area which left several divers hurt.

(Warning: you may find images in the accompanying video disturbing)

The body of a 70-year-old tourist was washed onto the shore near Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday. It is believed she had been snorkelling.

Egyptian authorities had earlier imposed a 48-hour ban on swimming in part of the waters after four divers – three Russians and a Ukrainian – were injured by shark attacks last week.

It is unclear whether the woman, who has not been named, was inside this “danger zone”.

Shark attacks are extremely rare in Sharm el-Sheikh, one of Egypt’s most popular holiday destinations.

“It is unusual to have four attacks in a week,” said Rolf Schmid, manager of the Sinai Diver’s Centre.

“The attack happened in a shallow area called Middle Garden north of Naama Bay, and the whole area hasn’t had sharks for the past 10 to 15 years.”

Last week the environment ministry said it had caught and killed the two sharks behind the attacks on the divers. But a marine NGO then said they had killed the wrong sharks.