A shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea coast has left one person dead and another injured, officials said.
In a statement, the North African country’s environment ministry said Sunday’s incident occurred north of Marsa Alam, a seaside resort in eastern Egypt popular with divers.
He added that the attack occurred “in deep waters outside the designated swimming area.”
While the ministry simply stated that the two victims were foreigners, the AFP news agency indicated that they were Italian nationals, citing an anonymous source within the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The deceased man, aged 48, lived in Rome, while the injured man was 69 years old, according to AFP.
Egyptian authorities said the two tourists were taken to a hospital in Port Ghalib, about 30 miles north of Marsa Alam.
The Marsa Alam swimming area will be closed and the incident is under investigation, authorities said.
In the past ten years, four deaths have been confirmed due to shark attacks, according to data compiled by the independent Shark Research Institute.
The last incident occurred in June 2023 near Hurguda and involved a 24-year-old Russian man.
