Shark attack
December 6, 2010
A 70-year-old woman died on Sunday after being attacked by a shark while swimming near the shore in the Red Sea.
Medical officials said the tourist was pulled out of the water dead after the shark mauled her thigh and arm.
The death in the popular resort of Sharm el-Sheikh comes after four people were injured in similar attacks at the resort earlier in the week.
Following the first attacks the government closed beaches from Wednesday until Saturday. On Thursday, authorities said they captured two sharks believed to be behind the attacks.
The Environment Ministry has once again ordered beaches in Sharm el-Sheikh and the surrounding area to close for 72 hours while search teams scour the water for sharks.
Very rare attacks
The number of recent shark attacks is unusual for the Sinai Peninsula, which is a popular scuba diving destination.
"It has never happened before," Egyptian Tourism minister Zuhair Garana told the news agency AFP.
"We are getting marine biologists from abroad to assess the situation and why there was this change in biological nature," said Garana.
Manager of the Sinai Diver's Centre, Rolf Schmid said the whole area had not had sharks "for the past 10 to 15 years."
Author: Catherine Bolsover (dpa/AFP/Reuters)
Editor: Rob Turner