A shark in a Red Sea resort in Egypt killed a German woman, ripping off her arm while she was snorkeling, reported diving and security officials on Sunday according to AP.
The deadly attack, in which the elderly woman died immediately, came only a few days after three tourists from Russia and one from Ukraine were seriously injured by white tip sharks at the resort.
Egyptian authorities had closed the waters of Sharm el-Sheikh after the attacks of last week, but reopened the holiday and diving resort after they said the two suspected sharks had been captured, and divers and authorities had ensured the safety of the area, according to AP.
Experts say that it is unusual behavior for the sharks to attack repeatedly. “This is unnatural. It has never happened before,” Zuhair Garana, Tourism minister of Egypt, told AFP.
Environmental specialists claim that the cause could be the declining ecosystem of the Red Sea, while the head of the Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS) said that overfishing could have lead to the increased number of sharks residing off the Red Sea coast, according to AP.
The string of shark attacks at one of the country’s most touristed beach resorts could have a considerable impact on Egypt’s tourism season.
