Advertisement

Boy, 12, and tour guide lose limbs in horrific shark attack

A 12-year-old boy has lost an arm and a tour guide a leg in a rare shark attack over the weekend off Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, officials said Tuesday.

The attack took place Sunday when two Ukrainian tourists — a mother and her son —and their tour guide were snorkelling in Ras Mohammed national park, the Environment Ministry said in a statement.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital and an initial investigation showed that the attack involved a 2-meter (6-foot) long Oceanic Whitetip shark, the ministry said.

The ministry did not release details of the injuries, but a statement by Ukraine’s State Agency for the Development of Tourism said Monday the 12-year-old boy was in intensive care, and that surgery had failed to save his arm.

A shark believed by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment to be behind an attack on tourists in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in 2010.
This shark, caught in 2010, is believed to be behind four attacks in the same year at Sharm el-Sheikh. Source: AAP

An Egyptian health official said that the family’s guide had lost a leg, and the mother suffered light injuries.

The health official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Officials have closed the area of Ras Mohammed National Park where the attack took place.

Shark attacks have been rare in the Red Sea coastal region of Egypt in recent years. But in 2010, a spate of shark attacks killed one European tourist and maimed several others off Sharm el-Sheikh.

Sharm el-Sheikh resort at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula is one of Egypt’s major tourist destinations, that offers European tourists a warm and quick escape from frigid winter temperatures on the continent.

Divers are drawn by the steep drop-offs of coral reefs just offshore that offer a rich and colorful sea life.

Authorities have in recent years sought to revive the vital tourism sector battered by years of instability and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.