*Warning: Distressing Content*
Multiple Red Sea beaches have been ordered to shut down after a woman tragically died from a shark attack in Egypt.
Two security sources told Reuters that the region's governorate issued the order on Friday, 1 July, following the shocking death in Sahl Hasheesh, a popular bay on the Red Sea coast.
The attack unfolded earlier that day, with footage captured by Russian tourists showing pools of blood around the 68-year-old Austrian woman as she struggled to make her way back to the pier in front of horrified onlookers.
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A source for the Red Sea Health Affairs Directorate told the publication the woman was taken to a nearby private hospital where medical staff attempted to resuscitate her.
However, she sadly died due to circulatory failure, resulting from the injuries and subsequent blood loss.
A security member added that the woman had been living in the country for five years with her Egyptian husband.
Witnesses who were at the beach when the shark launched its attack suggested the victim lost an arm, but others said she had lost an arm and a leg.
Although she managed to make it back to shore, she was previously reported to have died on the journey to the hospital.
A local publication reported: "The pensioner was swimming in the Sahl Hashish area, south of the resort of Hurghada, on Friday.
"She was attacked by a shark which bit off her arm and leg. She tried to reach shore on her own…
"Medics arrived and took her to hospital. Along the way the doctors performed resuscitation measures, but her heart was not restarted.
"The woman died in the ambulance."
According to a guide on Red Sea shark attacks, such incidents are very rare, especially for those swimming near the beach in day time.
"As of June 2021, we only know of four fatalities off the Egyptian coast as a consequence of shark attacks during the last ten years," states the report.
"Of the 368 species of shark worldwide only 20 represent any danger to humans. And statistically shark attacks are very rare."
It continues: "Annually over one million people are killed in car accidents every year, but worldwide fatalities from shark attacks average just five a year."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Topics: Animals, World News
Daisy Phillipson