Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

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Shark maims 4 Russian swimmers in Egypt's Red Sea


Published December 01, 2010
| Associated Press

Excerpt:

Director of Sinai Conservation Mohammed Salem said the shark attacked two Russians swimming in the Ras Nasrani area near the famed Sharm el-Sheikh resort in the Sinai Peninsula and bit their arms off.

The same shark may also have been involved in an attack on another pair of Russians on Tuesday swimming close to the resort beach, he added...

All four victims were flown to Cairo for medical treatment and were in critical condition.

Mohammed Salem said coast guard authorities were hunting for the shark and have issued a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water in Sharm el-Sheikh, a famed scuba diving destination...

Full text:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/01/shark-maims-russian-swimmers-egypts-red-sea/

 

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Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Shark kills German tourist in Egypt

Sunday December 05 2010

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Officials say that a shark has killed an elderly German tourist at an Egyptian Red Sea resort, a few days after three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist were badly mauled in shark attacks.

The officials say the tourist died immediately after her arm was ripped off by the shark while she was swimming off Sharm el-Sheikh, a renowned diving and holiday resort.

Full text:
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/shark-kills-german-tourist-in-egypt-2449063.html

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Egypt shark attacks: Tourists tell of panic as the sea turns red

By Adrian Blomfield and Samer al-Atrush in Sharm el-Sheikh 7:03PM GMT 06 Dec 2010

As the sun began to set and the shadows lengthened along the shores of the Red Sea, a determined core of tourists remained rooted to their loungers on the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh.

To the casual observer, it would have seemed a typical holiday scene.

Bottles of suntan lotion lay strewn across the sand. Flip-flops, sunglasses and paperback novels held by sunbathers of different hues, from British holiday pink to Mediterranean nut-brown, all suggested just another day on the beach.

But for one tourist among the pack, Niclas Westmar from Jonkoping in Sweden, the innocent pleasures of lying on a beach will be forever tinged by the horrific death of one of his fellow holidaymakers as he tried helplessly to intervene.

A little over 24 hours earlier he was lying in almost the same spot, his eyes closed, listening to his iPod. Suddenly, his wife yanked out his earphones and yelled: "shark attack"...

Full text and video:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...rists-tell-of-panic-as-the-sea-turns-red.html

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Egypt facing 'worst case scenario': more than one killer shark in the waters

Scientists scouring the waters off Egypt's premier Red Sea resort have admitted that they are facing a "worst case scenario" after concluding that a spate of attacks on swimmers in the area was the work of at least two sharks.

A shortfin mako shark similar to the one captured last week that has been forensically identified as the culprit behind last Wednesday's attack on two swimmers from Russia and Ukraine Photo: ALAMY

By Adrian Blomfield, Sharm el-Sheikh 7:18PM GMT 07 Dec 2010

Conservationists and marine biologists had hoped that a lone rogue shark was responsible for the death of a German woman and the mauling of four other tourists in Sharm el-Sheikh over the past week.

But Egyptian officials in the Sinai peninsula yesterday disclosed that a shortfin mako shark captured last week had been forensically identified as the culprit behind last Wednesday's attack on two swimmers from Russia and Ukraine.

"The bite on one of the victims has been matched with the teeth of the Mako," said Ahmed el-Edkawy, the deputy secretary general of South Sinai governorate.

"We are confident that this shark was responsible for the second incident."

That one of the culprits responsible for the mysterious terror visited on Sharm el-Sheikh's beaches may have seemed like good news.

But with witnesses saying that the latest attack, was carried out by a whitetip, scientists are being forced to confront the likelihood that sharks from two different species have suddenly developed man-killing tendencies.

More worryingly, scientists now have no idea how many sharks may have developed a taste for human flesh ? making both the hunt for the killers and a search for the explanation of their bizarre behaviour far more complicated.

Read more:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...more-than-one-killer-shark-in-the-waters.html

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Egyptian Resort Limits Swimming After Shark Attacks

Published December 07, 2010
| Associated Press

AP Photo/Hussein Talal
Tourists who were due to participate in an aquatic exercise class perform on the sand instead, at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Dec. 6, 2010. Egyptian authorities have indefinitely closed the resort's beaches for swimming after oceanic white tip sharks mauled three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist last week, and tore the arm off an elderly German tourist on Sunday, killing her almost immediately.

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CAIRO ? SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt -- Egypt kept most of the 30-mile coastline off the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh closed to swimmers on Tuesday after a spate of shark attacks killed one European tourist and maimed several others in the past week.

Authorities diverted novice divers to the closest major resort, Dahab, about 50 miles north of Sharm. They reopened the waters off Sharm to experienced divers, except for a 2-mile stretch where the shark attacks occurred. Three spots were designated for swimmers and snorkelers -- mostly closed bays, mangroves and a national park.

A team of U.S. experts arrived to help investigate the unusual series of attacks in one of the world's top diving destinations.
...

Shark attacks in the area are rare and authorities were scrambling to prevent them from cutting into the crucial revenues that Red Sea tourism brings to Egypt.

Full text:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/07/egyptian-resort-limits-swimming-shark-attacks/

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Blood in the water: Horrifying photo shows aftermath of shark attack as experts warn TWO predators may be on the loose

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:41 AM on 8th December 2010

Excerpt:

Predator: This BBC image shows what authorities believe is the actual shark involved in at least one of the attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh. The shark has a chunk missing from its fin

On display: This is one of the two sharks officials said were behind the attacks on tourists at Sharm el-Sheikh


Grainy video images released on Monday showed one creature that authorities believe has killed one woman and attacked four others at a popular Egyptian holiday resort, with the shark recognisable by the chunk missing from its dorsal fin.


But more than one deadly animal may be out there.

Based on the patterns of bite marks on the victims' bodies it appears to experts that have flown to Egypt that there were two sharks involved.

The experts also claim that the sharks may have be lured to shore by tour guides throwing out bait to bring the predators closer.

Another theory is that sharks have been drawn to the area by the crew of a ship transporting livestock that dumped dead animals overboard. A passing transport ship recently threw dead sheep in the waters...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...shows-blood-Egypts-Red-Sea.html#ixzz17XX9my99

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

Egypt shark attack beaches to reopen
Sharm el-Sheikh authorities say there will be permanent sea patrols and watchtowers to look out for the predators

Reuters in Ismailia
guardian.co.uk, <TIME datetime="2010-12-13T09:06GMT" pubdate>Monday 13 December 2010 09.06 GMT</TIME>

Excerpt:

"We have allowed the beaches to reopen on condition hotel owners adhere to new controls to ensure the safety of foreign tourists while diving or swimming," the south Sinai governor, Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha, said last night.

The controls include continuous sea patrols by boat and the establishment of watchtowers along the shoreline from which professional divers equipped with binoculars can monitor against any shark attacks.

Tourists will be required to remain within designated swimming areas and refrain from feeding sharks, Shousha said.


Full text:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/13/egypt-shark-attack-beaches-open

 

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Re: Egypt - Three Russians and a Ukrainian tourist badly mauled in shark attacks, German tourist killed

23 December 2010 Last updated at 12:24 ET

Shark attacks: Egypt lifts diving ban, denies cull

By Leana Hosea BBC News, Cairo

The Egyptian authorities have lifted all diving restrictions in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh following the shark attacks earlier this month.

But the tourism ministry said a ban on swimming and snorkelling was still in place along a 3km (2-mile) stretch of beach in the main resort area.

Meanwhile, an environmental group has accused officials of "indiscriminately" killing at least 10 sharks.

The South Sinai deputy governor has denied any large-scale shark cull.

"We don't kill sharks," the Deputy Governor for South Sinai, Ahmed Saleh, told the BBC.

"Only one, or maybe two or three sharks have been caught, but not killed.

Maybe they died after they were caught," he added.

More...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12069480