Shark that ate man at Egyptian tourist resort is being 'mummified for museum'

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The shark that ate a man at a tourist resort in Egypt is being mummified so it can be displayed at a museum, according to local media.

Russian tourist Vladimir Popov, 23, was eaten alive by a 10ft-long tiger shark in the sea near the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada on Thursday, 8 June.

The shark was caught shortly after the killing after locals captured it using a fishing net.

It was later confirmed by authorities the shark had not only been captured, but also killed.

Telegram/Institute of Marine Sciences and the Red Sea Reserves

On Monday (12 June), specialists at the Institute of Marine Sciences and the Red Sea Reserve began the embalming process in Hurghada to prepare the shark’s body for display at the institute’s museum, news channel Al Arabiya reports.

Authorities in Egypt confirmed the shark has been handed over for research purposes in order to find out the causes of its behaviour. They are also hoping to identify whether the shark is related to one that 'caused several previous accidents'.

A video shows the shark's body being operated on by specialists. One man in the clip appears to be making incisions while someone else checks the firmness of the animal's skin.

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Popov's father, Yury Popov, spoke out about the incident, saying it 'all happened in seconds'.

He continued: "We went to the beach to relax.

"[...] My son was attacked by a shark. [...] What kind of help can you give? This meat grinder happened in 20 seconds, he was just dragged under the water.

"This is an absolutely ridiculous coincidence, because it is a safe beach. There are ships and yachts around. It's never happened there. They usually attack on wild beaches. It's just some kind of evil fate."

Shortly after the incident, Egypt's Environment Ministry banned anyone from entering the water.

Local authorities placed a ban on snorkelling, swimming and any other kind of water sports until 11 June.

Telegram via BAZA Rossiya24

In a statement posted to Facebook, Egypt's Environment Ministry wrote: "In light of abnormal shark behaviour causing the incident and previous fact that there have been incidents of attacks on humans by this species in the past, the fishing team examined the fish that caused the incident to examine it to find out possible causes for the attack and whether it was [the] same fish that caused previous accidents."

In July last year, a 68-year-old woman, called Elisabeth Sauer, from Austria, was attacked by a shark at the Sahl Hasheesh, which is not far from the spot where Vladimir died.