Two women killed in shark attacks at Egypt Red sea resorts

Two deadly shark attacks were recorded at Hurghada on Egypt's Red Sea coastline. Photo / Kevin et Laurianne, Unsplash

Romania's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that a tourist from the country was killed in a shark attack while vacationing in Egypt, making it the second shark attack death there in recent days.

A 68-year-old Austrian woman died on Friday after losing an arm and a leg in another attack by a Mako shark while swimming in the Red Sea near the resort town of Hurghada. Egyptian local media widely reported on the death of a second woman from a shark attack on Sunday.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry said it was working to identify the victim, notify the family and see the body repatriated.

On Saturday, Egyptian authorities closed off a stretch of the country's Red Sea coastline after the Austrian woman died. They banned water activities including diving, snorkelling, wind surfing and kite sailing. Fishing boats were also banned from the waters off Hurghada.

A video circulated online purported to show the attack that killed the Austrian woman, relatively close to the shore, as seen from a nearby pier. In the video, the water around the swimmer turns red from blood as bystanders on the pier throw a flotation device toward her. It remained unclear how she was able to get to the shore.

Shark attacks have closed the beach to swimmers. Photo / Gerald Schombs, Unsplash

A security source told the Guardian that the Austrian woman was not a tourist and had been living in Egypt over the past five years with her Egyptian husband.

The attacks reportedly happened within 600 metres, along the same stretch of water.

On Sunday the Egyptian environment ministry said it would be examining the circumstances of the two attacks. Red Sea Governorate, Maj Gen Amr Hanafi, has ordered that the surrounding beaches be closed until further notice.

Mako sharks are not normally found near the Red Sea coast resorts, leading the environment ministry to suspect man-made factors could have brought them closer to shore.

- Associated press with additional reporting