Egypt shuts down Red Sea beaches following fatal shark attacks that claim two

The death of an Austrian woman resident in Egypt has prompted Egypt’s Red Sea Governorate to shut down several beaches on Friday. A second body was discovered later on Sunday.

The 68-year-old Austrian woman, who was married to a local man and had been a resident of Egypt for five years, was attacked off the coast of Sahl Hasheesh near the well-known resort of Hurghada.

According to the Red Sea Health Affairs Directorate, the victim was transferred to a local private hospital but attempts to resuscitate her failed and she succumbed to her injuries due to massive blood loss.

Several hours later a body of another woman, a Romanian tourist in her late fourties, was found. Both attacks happened within 600 metres.

The ministry said in its statement that a committee had been assembled to examine the circumstances of the attacks and any scientific reasons behind them.