Shark attack in Sharm El Sheikh. Dangerous encounter: sharks in Egypt
After the events of 2010, when sharks visited tourists in Sharm El Sheikh, they finally remembered the ancient abodes of the seas in Egypt, of course the events that happened shocked both tourists and local residents, Scientists and divers were even more surprised, since shark species are not dangerous to humans and almost never approach the shore.
By nature, sharks do not care about people, they do not perceive us as food - tuna is tastier, sharks are quite shy and are afraid of people - more than we are, they prefer to be at depth. The Red Sea does not contain dangerous species of sharks such as tiger or white sharks.
Overall, the absence of any problems with sharks has been confirmed by more than 35 summer history the existence of the resort, during all this time there were no official cases of shark attacks off the coast of the Red Sea. Of course, funny things have happened before, but only with divers who deliberately sought encounters with sharks and showed excessive intrusiveness towards predators. For me, in such cases there is nothing surprising; we, being the most intelligent creatures in nature, can also hit a tambourine if they break into our home and start harassing us.
Nevertheless scary tale shark attacks in Sharm El Sheikh had the right to happen, it shocked many tourists and negatively affected the tourist flow into the country.
Hot seaside resort, music is playing on the beach, tourists are carefree relaxing and swimming in the sea, an atmosphere of celebration and fun reigns around, the peace of tourists is disturbed by a killer shark, which has begun its hunt for vacationers, the holiday mood is replaced by fear and panic. Agree, this situation is very reminiscent of the plot of the horror film “Jaws”.
Why did Sharks in Sharm El Sheikh attack tourists?
In fact, there is no exact answer to this question; there are several versions.
1) The attacks occurred on a holiday that in Russia is usually called Kurban Bayram - the holiday of sacrifice, on this day Muslims slaughter sheep and cows and eat meat dishes, this is one of the largest holidays. Many ships pass from the Gulf of Aqaba to Suez and further to the Mediterranean Sea. The main version was that sailors slaughtered livestock on holiday and threw the remains into the sea, which were then carried by the current to the shores of Sharm, and sharks swam after them.
2) The shark was sick, as a result of which it could not hunt in a normal way, the mortally hungry shark decided to eat, fed on the all-inclusive system, tourists
3) A very strange version, which nevertheless sounded even from the screens of news channels, is a sabotage by the Israelis, who deliberately set rabid sharks on a popular resort, such as black PR to attract tourists to their resorts.
4) Feeding fish and dumping food from coastal cafes, it would seem such harmless fun as feeding fish from a pontoon can attract trouble, sharks rely on charm and sense a large concentration of fish at a distance of several kilometers. When feeding the fish from the leftover buffet, a huge number of them come in.
Sharks in Sharm El Sheikh - Types of sharks in the red sea
Sharks are a very ancient species that has lived in all the seas of the world for more than 430 million years, in total there are about 500 species of toothy predators, 44 species live in the Red Sea. Sharks have extraordinary hearing and an incredible ability to detect changes in electrical fields, which allow them to sense prey from a great distance without even seeing it.
Most often, sharks swim freely and slowly at a speed of 5-10 km per hour, but in the event of an attack, they almost instantly pick up speed of 60-100 km per hour. The shark has as many as three rows of teeth, but it uses only one - the outer row, the rest gradually move forward, replacing the broken outer teeth.
Sharks inhabiting the waters of the Red Sea are not considered dangerous; you still need to be careful and try not to get close to predators or invade their territory.
Whitetip reef shark
Reef Shark - The most common type of red orea, it is very shy and poses no danger to humans or scuba divers.
Description— The length of adult sharks reaches 213 cm, the ends of the dorsal fin and tail are white, the belly of the shark is silver, and the back is gray-brown.
Habitat - It lives near the reef, usually to a depth of 40m; during the daytime it can occasionally be found sleeping in a cave or on the sandy bottom.
Peace-loving and timid, it mainly feeds on small fish and crustaceans, hunts at night, as a rule, the offspring consists of 5-6 sharks, whose length at birth does not exceed 50-60 cm.
Dark tip gray shark
Note - It is especially active at night, shows aggression near food, and is potentially dangerous to humans.
Description - A large shark with a massive body, reaching 2.5 meters in length. The shark’s back is gray and its belly is white. The dorsal, ventral and anal fins are black.
Habitat - Prefers the outer slopes of reefs from the water surface to 280 meters, loves lagoons with fast currents.
Behavior and level of activity - Very curious, not afraid of divers, feeds mainly on small fish and crustaceans, reaches sexual maturity in the seventh year of life, lives up to 25 years, 1-6 cubs are born from a female, 40-60 cm long at birth.
Whitetip gray shark
Note - These sharks in Sharm El Sheikh can pose a potential danger to humans; they occasionally attack scuba divers who invade its territory; it is better not to anger this shark.
Description - Quite a large shark, its length reaches 3 meters and weight 160 kg, its back is dark gray sometimes gray-brown, its belly is white, its ventral and pectoral fins are also edged with white. The tail part of the body is light.
Habitat - Mainly found in the open sea, sometimes coming close to shore and can be seen swimming along the outer slope of the reef.
Behavior and level of activity - It feeds mainly on large fish, small sharks, cephalopods, stingrays, offspring of 10-12 individuals, can be active at any time of the day.
Malgash Night Shark
Note - It has a rather timid disposition, does not like to swim close to divers, its meat is used for food in Asian countries, and in rare cases it shows aggression.
Description - Shark big size, reaches a maximum length of 2 meters, it is easy to recognize, since the upper part of the dorsal fin and the lower edge of the caudal fin have a black tip, and there is also a white stripe on the dorsal fin.
Habitat - often found at shallow depths, near reefs, above the reef and in places with a sandy bottom, quite often it can be seen in the protected area of the Red Sea, it was noticed by us more than once during an individual trip to Ras Mohammed.
Behavior and level of activity - It feeds mainly on small fish, crustaceans and mollusks, during the day it most often rests in caves, despite its cowardly disposition, it can be aggressive in case of danger.
Bronze hammerfish.
Note— In many countries, this shark is the object of merciless hunting. Potentially dangerous, but often does not show aggression towards scuba divers.
Description— The shark is medium-large in size, its weight can exceed 150 kg, it is easily recognized by the characteristic flat shape of its head, along the edge of which the eyes are located. The body is gray, without any special healing signs.
Habitat- most often the hammerhead shark can be found in the open sea, sometimes it approaches the shore, many sharks of this species live in one place, others prefer a nomadic lifestyle.
Behavior and level of activity - It feeds on fish, cephalopods, stingrays, young individuals live in schools, adults in pairs or alone, females give birth to 15 to 30 sharks, 40-60 cm in size.
Sharks in Sharm El Sheikh - The largest shark in the world - Whale shark
Note— Despite its gigantic size, the whale shark is harmless, has a curious, gentle character, and easily allows scuba divers to approach it.
Description - The whale shark is the largest living fish, its length can reach more than 13 meters and its weight up to 20 tons, the bluish-gray body of the shark is covered with light spots with transverse stripes, the tail fin is crescent-shaped, the huge mouth terminal of the fish has almost no teeth.
Habitat - A pelagic shark that often approaches the reef, it can often be found in the inner bays of protected areas.
Behavior and level of activity - slowly swims along the surface in search of plankton, small fish and crustaceans, is prone to emigration, can travel both in splendid isolation and as part of groups. The shark is practically not dangerous; there have been cases where scuba divers were injured when they were accidentally hit by a shark.
Ministry of Security environment Egypt expressed concern over a short video from the area circulating on social media resort town Sharm el-Sheikh in the Red Sea, where unprotected tourist divers are chased into the sea by a large shark, reports the Youm7 news portal, citing a statement by Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy. A diver caught a shark attack on camera. All the fuss is about this.
“This shark is dangerous to humans and should not be played with. What the video demonstrates is recklessness, to say the least,” the publication quotes the minister as saying.
The minister emphasized that the shark that appeared in the video belongs to the species of oceanic white tip shark, which is potentially dangerous to people and very aggressive. Currently, a group of ministry specialists has been sent to Sharm el-Sheikh to conduct conversations with diving instructors and owners of pleasure yachts about the danger of sharks and the inadmissibility of unprotected tourists participating in such “entertainment” recorded on video.
In December 2010, five shark attacks on vacationers occurred in the area of the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. One German citizen was killed, four tourists were injured: three Russians and one resident of Ukraine. Because of these attacks, the authorities had to close the resort's beaches for some time.
A little history
A tourist from Germany died in a shark attack. The incident occurred on March 22 at the El Quseir resort on the Red Sea coast. According to local media, the shark bit off the vacationer's leg. He died on the way to the hospital. This was the first case of a shark attack on a person in Egypt in five years.
El Quseir is a small resort town 120 km from Hurghada. Since the mid-90s, the past has become famous among diving enthusiasts.
At the beginning of December 2010, three tourists from Russia who were vacationing in Sharm el-Sheikh suffered from shark teeth, and one traveler from Germany died. Then there was a whole series of attacks by sea predators on vacationers, and the Egyptian authorities even had to close the beaches at this resort. The victims of the sharks received $50 thousand in compensation from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
By mid-December 2010, among the main reasons for shark attacks on people, experts identified two main ones: a reduction in the amount of fish (especially tuna), which is the main source of food for sharks, as well as uncontrolled feeding of sharks by divers. According to the official, sharks, which are constantly searching for food due to the shortage of fish, directly associate people in the water with food and attack because people feed them regularly.
But in January a new version appeared. As the investigation showed, the tragedy occurred due to the fact that on the Eid al-Adha holiday cargo ships They brought live sheep from India and Australia, throwing the animals overboard at the slightest suspicion of illness. They were the ones who attracted Indian Ocean in the Red Sea, oceanic white tip sharks that attacked tourists.
In this regard, the governor of South Sinai, making a decision in mid-January 2011 to open all the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh, introduced several mandatory requirements. Swimming and snorkeling were allowed everywhere, but hotels were required to provide observation towers 5-6 m high and constant monitoring of the sea and swimmers, as well as invite foreign specialists to train staff. Rescuers should be on duty at these towers during the entire daylight hours and monitor the possible appearance of sharks. The rescuer must have a whistle, binoculars and three flags - white, black and red, as well as a first aid kit. Rescuers were given instructions on the rules of behavior and first aid. medical care in case of attack by sea predators. There must be a doctor on duty on the beach.
In addition, boats were supposed to be on duty at sea, which were entrusted with the task of early warning of the appearance of dangerous predators. Control over the yachts on which the events are organized was also tightened. boat trips, including diving. In particular, they are prohibited from unauthorized release of garbage and waste into the sea. Violators risk having their license revoked.
Diving was allowed everywhere from ships, as well as on most beaches from the shore. Temporary diving restrictions have been introduced on a small number of beaches until the bottom is surveyed. All boat excursions were also allowed.
At the same time, a complete ban on feeding fish was introduced, in case of violation of which tourists paid a fine of $15, aquatic centers - $15 thousand, and hotels - $50 thousand. Aquatic centers that violated the ban should be closed, and the ships from which they fed the fish should have their license revoked. In addition, a complete ban on fishing was introduced. All hotels must inform their guests in writing, in the appropriate language, of the prohibitions and the possible consequences of violating them.
In addition, the military convoy introduced in December 2010 for all ships passing into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Suez Canal carrying animals, chemicals and other dangerous substances was maintained.
At the same time, Egyptian authorities studied the possibility of using special nylon nets to protect against sharks. It was possible that such networks could protect places most popular among divers. However, it didn't come to that. According to tourists who were vacationing in Sharm el-Sheikh at that time, on the beaches of some hotels they only fenced off small areas with nets where tourists could swim. True, the vast majority still preferred the pool.
In December 2010, these events significantly affected demand; sales of tours to Egypt then almost stopped for some time. In connection with the letter from the head of Rospotrebnadzor dated December 8, 2010 “On measures aimed at ensuring safety Russian tourists in countries of temporary residence" The PCT Legal Commission recommended that tour operators and travel agents entering into agreements on the sale of tourism products with clients when selling tours to the Egyptian Red Sea coast inform tourists in writing about the need to comply with personal safety rules in connection with cases of shark attacks. The absence of such information may serve as a basis for attracting travel company to responsibility.
According to the provisions of Article 14 of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals tourism activities V Russian Federation» consumer tourists are given the right to demand in court the termination of the sales contract tourism product or its change in the event of circumstances indicating the emergence of a threat to the safety of their life and health in the country (place) of temporary stay of tourists (excursionists).
They say that sharks began to show particular aggression after a plane taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport fell into the Red Sea. This happened on January 3, 2004. There were 6 crew members and 135 passengers on board, including 129 French tourists and 6 Egyptians. They all died.
The PCT database contains 86 records of shark attacks or dangerous approaches to humans from April 2004 to March 2015. The last one before yesterday occurred on March 18 in the Hawaiian Islands. The most accidents occur in Australia, with 29 recorded in the database. The USA is in second place - 11. After yesterday's incident, Egypt came into third place - 7. The same number of cases were recorded in the Hawaiian Islands. In Brazil - 6. Shark aggression was also recorded in South Africa (5), Mexico (4), New Zealand, Spain, the Bahamas and Seychelles, in Israel, in Croatia.
And even in Russia. In August 2011, three cases of shark attacks on swimmers in the Sea of Japan were recorded off the coast of the Khasansky district in the Primorsky Territory.
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A shark attack on a Russian woman near the beach in Sharm el-Sheikh happened before our eyes. A woman swimming in the sea 200 meters from the shore began shouting “shark”... An eyewitness account
A shark attack on a Russian woman near the beach in Sharm el-Sheikh happened before our eyes. A woman swimming in the sea 200 meters from the shore began shouting “shark”... Eyewitness testimony
A shark attack on a woman in the sea near a hotel beach in Sharm el-Sheikh happened before our eyes. On November 30, between 15.00 and 16.00 local time, a woman approximately 55 years old, swimming in the sea 200-250 meters from the shore, began shouting “shark”. There was almost no one in the sea near her, only a man on a surfboard, who immediately paddled towards the woman, apparently thinking that she felt bad and was drowning.. At the same time, the scream was heard by people on the beach and rescuers on the shore.
Rescuers were the first to reach the victim. It was clear that when they saw the blood, they were shocked. Confused for a moment, they ordered the man on the board to return to the shore, while they themselves dragged the woman into the boat. When she was brought ashore, she was already unconscious. And without a hand. Later they said that the shark had bitten off her leg, but we did not see this, because the woman was immediately covered with a blanket. Then an ambulance arrived and the woman was taken away. Rescuers immediately kicked all the tourists out of the water. The next day, all beaches in Sharm el-Sheikh were closed for swimming. We learned that the woman is alive and in a hospital in Cairo.
This is what we saw with our own eyes. Everything else is just rumors and versions.
Rumors, fabrications of journalists and official statements
We are still in the thick of things, like other witnesses to the tragedy, carefully watching everything that happens. On the first day after the shark attack, nothing special happened - some boats that looked like military ones arrived at the scene near the beach of our hotel. There were men in uniform in the boats. And some people in white shirts and suits were constantly being brought there by boat: apparently, the local “bonzes” went to the place to develop some version, a plan of action and at least somehow calm people down. Meanwhile, tourists themselves spread gossip, and hotel managers did not provide any information (although they could at least tell something about safety measures and behavior at sea).
There were reports in the (Russian) press that there were four or five attacks. Most likely, this is fiction. Because it is impossible to hide something like this, as evidenced by the incident in our hotel. And before our case, all the beaches were open and there was not a single information. All the attacks could not have happened on the same day. In addition, officials and boats were driven specifically to our beach.
On December 2, at approximately 8 am, a shark about one and a half meters long was caught on a fishing boat near our beach. Most likely, it was an ordinary reef shark.
After this, the ship sailed into the open sea, and after half an hour returned and remained near the place where the attack took place until the evening. Military boats were also on duty near other beaches.
The beaches were not opened, people were not allowed into the sea. On the same day, a statement from the chief appeared in the press national park Ras Muhameda about the shark being caught. Towards evening, completely strange information was received that the man who tried to save the woman “identified” the caught shark. I wonder how he could? He never swam to the victim (rescuers turned him around) and hardly had any time to look at the shark in the sea. And how do you recognize her?
And today (December 3) a shark was caught off our shores again, a small one, up to a meter long. Why is this if the “cannibal” has already been caught?
It is clear that all official statements are aimed at stopping panic and hushing up this incident until a new batch of unafraid and unbitten tourists arrive. Moreover, it seems that the public who is now sitting on the beaches of Egypt does not care much about the Egyptians themselves - where will the tourists go? Nothing is explained to these people at all. The main thing is those who watch TV, read the news and decide whether to go to Egypt or not...
However, the issue is not just one shark, but the situation with tourism in the Red Sea as a whole. If the Egyptians do not resort to some measures, such cases may be repeated. In addition to several dozen species of sharks, in this sea there are also barracudas, which are also capable of not only biting off a limb, but also tearing a person into pieces, and many other dangerous fish.
Safety Having just arrived in Egypt, we noticed that there were more people on the beaches and in the sea, but, on the contrary, there were fewer corals.
And the majority behave simply idiotically in the water - they throw bread, eggs and even meat into the sea around them in order to swim in a school of fish. If you throw food near you in the water, in a second there will be a hundred small and medium-sized fish near you, in a minute large fish will arrive, and then predators that hide in the depths and behind the corals. And while you are crumbling bread from your hand to the fish, the shark can instantly jump out of ambush, trying to catch the fish. And at the same time bite off your hand. Because with its strength and teeth, this predator, even a small one, trying to drive a person away from its territory, can seriously injure him.
In general, Red Sea sharks do not tend to attack large prey; they are cautious, timid, avoid meeting people and feed on fish. If the attacker was one of the reef sharks, something provoked it. For example, she got excited because of a school of fed fish, or a person swam into her territory, or scratched her hand on coral, and so on.
It’s another matter if it’s not a reef shark, but some kind of large bloodthirsty creature that swam from the Indian Ocean. This version, by the way, was put forward by the rescuers on our beach.
And speaking on a global scale, any intervention in nature can disrupt the ecosystem and force its inhabitants to change their habits and behavior. Who knows how thousands of people floundering in the sea and hundreds of ships plowing the expanses of the shark’s home act on sharks, driving away the fish. And if these two-legged creatures, who dangle their arms and legs everywhere, are also associated with the food that they scatter around them...
Probably, some kind of large fine would have to be established for feeding fish. And local guides, instead of telling people that there are practically no sharks in the Red Sea, and you won’t see them near corals at all, should honestly tell people how careless behavior in the sea can result and how to behave when meeting large predators .
Dangerous fish of the Red Sea
All the sharks, of which there are a lot in the sea, are both small and two-meter long.
Lionfish - the poison in its fins is very dangerous.
Stonefish (scorpionfish) - camouflages on the bottom and corals, the poison in the upper fins is fatal in most cases.
Moray eel - can bite if you bring your hand to its muzzle.
Barracudas are predatory fish with toothy mouths that reach a size of up to one and a half meters and swim in large schools.
Electric Stingray – Can give you an electric shock if stepped on or touched.
Toothed predators continue to attack tourists at a popular Egyptian resort
Less than a week has passed since one or more sharks attacked citizens of Russia and Ukraine vacationing in Sharm el-Sheikh. Local authorities have already reported that the predators who seriously injured people have been caught. Now there is no danger to vacationers. Last Saturday there was a ban on swimming local beaches, introduced after a series of fish attacks, was withdrawn.
However, after just a day, all the authorities’ assurances of safety turned out to be just empty words. On Sunday, a man-eating shark attacked a man again. This time it was no longer possible to do without human casualties. The prey of the predator was an elderly tourist from Germany, swimming near the shore. She died from loss of blood right in the water. According to eyewitnesses of the incident, the predator severely bit the woman’s arms and legs. The 70-year-old lady had no chance to escape.
The incident occurred in the same place where shark attacks on Russians were previously recorded - in the area of the Melia Sinai Sharm and Dessole Nesco Waves hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Let us remind you that yesterday’s attack was already the fifth since the moment when sharks living in the waters of the Red Sea began attacking vacationers. The first reports of this came on November 30 and December 1. According to them, three Russian tourists were seriously injured: as a result of the attack, 70-year-old Lyudmila Stolyarova lost her left leg, right hand, and fingers of her left hand, Olga Martsenko lost her hands, and Evgeny Trishkin’s leg was bitten off by a shark above the knee. Another victim of the “jaws” was a tourist from Ukraine Viktor Koliy. He received only minor injuries.
After information about a series of attacks on the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh, a ban on swimming was introduced, and specialists from the Egyptian Ministry of Ecology began searching for predators. Soon the first victorious reports appeared. On December 2, the media reported the capture of the first shark, which may be involved in attacks on Russians. Soon another shark was caught. As experts said, they fully correspond to those described by the victims and eyewitnesses. However, as the tragic case of the German woman showed, they were either mistaken, or a whole school of killer sharks lives in the coastal waters of the most popular vacation spot among Russians.
In this regard, a ban on swimming has now been reintroduced on the beaches of Sharm el-Sheikh. This time, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, until the likelihood of shark attacks is completely eliminated.
According to local scientists, tourists from Russia and Germany were most likely victims of a whitetip shark, often found in tropical waters. It reaches a length of 3.5–4 meters, has very long pectoral fins, and its body is colored brownish-gray. As a rule, they do not attack or eat people. Cases similar to what happened happen extremely rarely in the world. According to statistics, no more than five people die from shark attacks around the world every year.
According to scientists, the latest shark attacks on people in the Red Sea may be a consequence of ecosystem disruption caused by uncontrolled fishing. As a result, due to a lack of food, predators remain hungry, and they have to attack people who at least somehow remind them of their traditional prey.
According to another version, tourists themselves could attract the shark. They often take pieces of meat and other food from restaurants to feed the fish. Naturally, after the small fish, their larger counterparts also come for food.
Usually predators do not swim close to the beaches. In addition, special barriers must be installed in bathing areas that do not allow them to get close to vacationers. Whether there were such barriers in the waters of the Red Sea near the sites of the attacks is not yet known.
If it turns out that they were not there, then perhaps all responsibility for what happened will fall on the hotels, says press secretary of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry Irina Tyurina.
According to her, what happened is a real anomaly. In these places, sharks usually do not attack people. The last time something like this happened was two years ago, when a plane carrying French tourists crashed near the Red Sea coast. “The sharks literally went berserk,” said Tyurina. After this, the country's authorities obliged all hotels to install iron barriers in bathing areas.
It is noteworthy that what happened happened on the eve of the New Year, when a large number of Russians travel to Egypt for the holidays. Sharm el-Sheikh is considered one of the most respectable resorts. However, the tragedy that happened could put an end to their plans. However, for now, travel agencies say that our compatriots are not going to refuse previously purchased vouchers, which are sold out until mid-January.
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