Romanian woman killed in second Egyptian shark attack in days

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s foreign ministry said Sunday that a tourist from the country was killed in a shark attack while on vacation in Egypt, making it the second death from a shark attack there in recent days.

A 68-year-old Austrian woman died on Friday after losing an arm and a leg in another mocha shark attack while swimming in the Red Sea near the resort town of Hurghada. Egyptian local media widely reported the death of a second woman from a shark attack on Sunday.

Romania’s foreign ministry said it was working to identify the victim, notify the family and repatriate the body.

On Saturday, Egyptian authorities closed a stretch of the country’s Red Sea coast after the Austrian woman died. They banned water activities including diving, snorkeling, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Fishing boats were also banned from the waters off Hurghada.

A video shared online shows the attack that killed the Austrian woman relatively close to shore, as seen from a nearby pier. In the video, the water around the swimmer turns red with blood as passersby on the pier throw a floating device at her. It remained unclear how she managed to reach the shore.

Shark attacks have been relatively rare in Egypt’s Red Sea coastal region in recent years. In 2020, a young Ukrainian boy lost his arm and an Egyptian tour guide lost his leg in a shark attack. In 2010, a series of shark attacks killed one European tourist and maimed several others off Sharm el-Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula, across the Red Sea from Hurghada.

Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, including Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, are some of the country’s main beach destinations and are popular with European tourists. Divers are drawn to the steep slopes of the coral reefs just offshore, which offer a rich and colorful marine life.

A spokeswoman for Egypt’s environment ministry declined to comment when asked about the second death.

Authorities have in recent years tried to revive a vital tourism sector battered by years of instability and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.