By DIVE Staff
An Egyptian woman has been seriously injured by a shark off the popular Egyptian Red Sea resort of Dahab, approximately 80km north of Sharm El Sheikh. Local Egyptian media reports the wound was so severe that her left arm has been amputated at the shoulder.
The woman, who has not been named but is reportedly from the northern Egyptian port city of Alexandria, was swimming at Laguna Beach, Dahab, on Wednesday afternoon.
Witnesses say that swimmers had mistakenly believed a large fish seen in the water to be a tuna before the incident occurred. The woman was taken initially to Dahab Central Hospital, but transferred to Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital for urgent surgery, where she is now said to be in a stable condition.
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Some reports claim that eyewitnesses have identified the shark as a tiger shark, although no confirmation as to the species involved has been given. Fishermen set out to hunt for the shark following the incident but did not find the animal responsible.
Egypt’s Ministry of the Environment has closed the beach in the aftermath of the incident, as Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad announced in a statement that a committee would be formed ‘to assess the situation and investigate the causes of the shark attack.’ No indication as to how long the closure would remain in place was given.
Dahab’s beaches had been temporarily closed in August after a shark had been sighted swimming off the shore. Egyptian authorities have been on high alert since June, when a Russian snorkeller was mauled to death by a tiger shark in Hurghada; the unprovoked attack caught in graphic detail in what would go on to become a viral video.
The shark was caught in the immediate aftermath of the Hurghada attack and beaten to death. Its remains have since been preserved by a local museum.
