Egypt to mummify shark that killed Russian tourist

By Ikram Kouachi

ANKARA (AA) – Egypt is working to mummify the shark that devoured a Russian tourist in the Red Sea city of Hurghada last week.

A 28-year-old tourist was attacked and dragged under the water by a tiger shark in Hurghada on Thursday. The shark was later caught and dragged to land.

Some of the victim’s body parts were recovered from inside the shark’s stomach, while the rest were recovered by fishermen from the sea.

The shark was handed to researchers at the Institute of Marine Sciences for mummification before being displayed at museum, according to the local Shorouk newspaper.

“Tiger sharks are the second most dangerous to humans after the white sharks,” Ashraf Seddik, a specialist in marine fisheries at the Institute of Marine Sciences, said.

“The tiger shark can be found in the Red Sea in small numbers. However, it is known to hunt around beaches where it could capture its prey at a depth of less than two meters,” he added.

Ahmed Wahballah, head of the institute, said the shark will be displayed at museum after being mummified.

“The mummified shark will be displayed at the Museum of the Scientific Institute,” he added.

Shark attacks have been relatively rare in Egypt’s Red Sea coastal region.

In 2022, two European tourists were killed in shark attacks near Hurghada.

In 2020, a young Ukrainian boy lost an arm and an Egyptian tour guide a leg in a shark attack.

A shark also killed a Czech tourist off a Red Sea beach in 2018. A German tourist was also killed in a similar attack in 2015.

In 2010, various shark attacks killed a European tourist and maimed several others off Sharm El-Sheikh in the Sinai Peninsula across the Red Sea from Hurghada.