Two tourists, an Australian and a Romanian woman have been killed by a shark near Hurghada on the Red Sea, where Egyptian officials have closed many beaches since the tragedy.
“Two women were attacked by a shark while swimming in the Sahel Hachich area, south of Hurghada,” Egypt’s environment ministry said on Sunday, adding that an investigation had been launched.
According to a decree issued by the governor of the region, Amr Hanafi, on Friday, “all activity is prohibited for three days” on the beaches in the south of Hurghada (south-east) on Sunday, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Environment.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed to AFP the “death of an Austrian national in Egypt,” but provided no further information.
According to the governor’s decree, “one Austrian visitor had her left arm ripped off” by a shark.
The Austrian news agency APA stated that the 68-year-old woman from the western area of Tyrol had been on vacation in Egypt with her Egyptian partner since the beginning of June.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry, for its part, stated that its mission in Egypt had “been informed by phone (Sunday) by a travel agent of the death of a Romanian citizen on vacation in Hurghada.”
