Sunday 3 July 2022 10:27 AM Egypt shark attack near Hurghada: What Austrian pensioner snorkeling in the Red ... trends now
A woman has died after a shark bit off her arm and leg at a tourist hotspot in Egypt - prompting authorities to close the sea in the surrounding area for three days.
The Austrian pensioner, 68, died of 'painful shock' - most likely a heart attack - after the attack at Sahl Hasheesh bay, south of Hurghada, in the Red Sea on Friday.
The 68-year-old from Kramsach, Tyrol had been in the country for a month with her partner, an Egyptian, and was due to return home today.
She was walking in shallow water while using a snorkel with fins not far from the beach near Hurghada and told her partner: 'I'll go back in for a moment'.
Horror footage then shows her clamouring toward safety with the aid of a flipper as the waters around her turned scarlet red.
Terrified onlookers tried to distract the Mako shark, but no one jumped in to help her.
Yesterday, officials at the Red Sea Governorate told reporters that area of the attack and Hurghada would be closed to all sea activity including fishing and diving. It will most likely open tomorrow to tourists again.
The Austrian tourist, who was married to an Egyptian man, used a flipper to try and clamour back to shore. But she died of 'painful shock' after reportedly losing and arm and a leg
The Austrian pensioner, 68, died of 'painful shock' - most likely a heart attack - after the attack at Sahl Hasheesh bay, south of Hurghada, in the Red Sea on Friday
After miraculously making her way back to land, doctors gave her CPR at the scene but she died minutes later in an ambulance.
Authorities closed the surrounding beaches for three days.
According to Tiroler Tageszeitung, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with relatives, including the woman's daughter, and the local authorities
It said she was walking not far from the beach within the designated bathing when she was attacked and it was still unclear how the shark came so close to her.
Video shows witnesses on a nearby jetty record the woman's survival attempt and comment on her predicament.
A group of Russian
