Cairo, June 8, (dpa/GNA) – A man has been killed in a shark attack in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the Egyptian Environment Ministry said on Thursday.
Authorities ordered a two-day ban on swimming, snorkelling and water sports in the surrounding area starting from Friday morning, the ministry added in an online statement.
The ministry said the shark was later caught and would be examined to determine causes of the attack.
The ministry did not identify the victim. Nor did it specify the exact time of the incident.
According to privately owned Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm, the victim was a foreign tourist, and the attack happened on Thursday at a tourist village in the famed resort city.
A boat, which happened to be near the attack spot, unsuccessfully attempted to rescue the man after he had screamed for help, the report said.
In July of last year, two women were killed in a shark attack while swimming off the Sahl Hasheesh coast south of Hurghada.
Egypt’s Red Sea coastline is a popular destination for diving and snorkelling.
Shark attacks are very rare in the African country. However, a number of deadly attacks have been reported in recent years.
In 2015, a German national died after a shark attacked him while diving off the Red Sea town of al-Quseir.
A tourist from the Czech Republic died after a similar attack in 2018.
GNA