INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Red Sea Shark Attack: German Tourist Killed In Egypt

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 00:52 PST, Mar 22, 2015

A 53-year-old German man was attacked and killed by a shark along Egypt’s Red Sea coast this weekend, losing much of his leg in the fatal incident.

The attack took place on the beaches of Marsa Alam, according to Cairo Scene, located in the southern Red Sea region of Egypt. The victim’s identity has yet to be released, though the German embassy noted that they are aware of his tragic death and plan to receive the body. Details of the incident are scarce, yet an Egyptian security official revealed that the shark had bitten off one of the man’s legs just below the knee, an injury that would cause traumatic blood loss. Officials who revealed details of the shark attack, which transpired on Saturday, did so on condition of anonymity, according to ABC News.

Egypt is considered to be one of the world’s top diving destinations, and shark attacks are hardly anything new in the region. A previous series of attacks that occurred in Sharm El Sheikh gave rise to the local conspiracy theory that the sharks were trained and released by Israel to kill swimmers. Cairo Scene notes that if further attacks occur this summer, similar theories are likely to arise once again, though possibly linking the shark attacks to ISIS, given global events.

“The truth is that shark attacks are natural occurring unavoidable accident, as often it is simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time [sic].”

In 2010, another German tourist, a 70-year-old woman, was killed by a shark while snorkeling. Four others were severely injured, as the Inquisitr previously reported, in an unprecedented five shark attacks that took place in a single week. Oceanic whitetip and mako sharks were blamed for the attacks at the time, and a variety of explanations were offered for the sharks’ aggressive behavior. Prey depletion, above average water temperatures, and shark feeding by divers were all thought to play a role in the attacks.

It is also believed that vessels transporting livestock from Australia and New Zealand may have disposed of dead animals by casting them overboard, an action that could have drawn the sharks closer to shore. Last year, the remains of a sheep were found in the belly of a tiger shark in the region, seemingly validating those theories.

Following the 2010 spate of shark attacks, Egyptian authorities were forced to close a stretch of beach along the Red Sea for a full week.

[Image: Mark Doherty/ Barcroft Media via the Daily Mail]

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