Russian tourist, 23, is ripped to death and eaten by a shark in Egypt
In the Egyptian resort of Hurghada, a Russian man was heard screaming ‘daddy’ today when he was bitten to death by a shark.
Tourists watched in horror from shore as the beast wounded the man before dragging him underwater. His distraught girlfriend managed to escape.
The tourist – believed to be 23 years old – was in Egypt for a long stay. He was dubbed Vladimir Popov by the Baza news outlet in Russia, and had moved to the resort with his father a few months ago.
His father watched the deadly attack in horror, which was also filmed from shore.
In the Egyptian resort of Hurghada, a Russian man was heard screaming ‘daddy’ today when he was bitten to death by a shark. Pictured: A still image of a graphic video showing the attack. The shark’s fin can be seen just a few feet away from the man as he tries to swim away from the beast
Tourists watched in horror from shore as the beast wounded the man before dragging him underwater. His distraught girlfriend managed to escape
The video shows the man desperately shouting “Papa, Papa” as the predator chased him into the water and circled around him before launching the attack.
The man can be seen desperately trying to swim to shore, but appears to be attacked by the shark while still in deeper water.
His body spins in the water and his legs rise above the surface – as shocked onlookers scream and shout for the man to swim.
‘Swim away, swim away! Fast! A shark!’ people can be heard screaming.
The splashing in the water stops and the man’s head resurfaces. He appears to move back into the water in the video, but only slowly.
He can be heard screaming ‘Papa’, begging for help, as part of the water turns red.
As he does, the shark’s body is clearly visible on the surface this time. The long black shape circles around the man and his fin and tail can be seen on the surface.
The woman filming the gruesome attack can be heard repeating “oh my god” as it unfolds. As she does, the shark turns for another attack and swims towards the man again, clamping its jaws around him and pulling him under.
The man’s head appears above the water one last time, and the shark’s body is seen writhing in the ocean as it appears to eat the man’s body and drag it further down.
A witness said, “The shark is now eating its remains. There she is, eating his remains.’ Another said, “Right before my eyes, the shark ate the man, the girl managed to escape. He got hit by the shark.
“It’s terrible, this man’s remains are lying there.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the death of a civilian from a shark attack.
An unnamed Russian tourist said: ‘Rescuers responded very quickly. I immediately felt it was a shark.
“I immediately jumped up and started screaming, ‘Sharks! Save yourself!’.’
A witness said, “It was about twenty feet from shore.”
Another onlooker said, “The girl was rescued, she was screaming very much on the beach.
“She was so shocked, screaming. I don’t know where they took her.’
The incident reportedly took place at Dream Beach in Hurghada.
Russian tourists were instructed to be vigilant in the popular seaside resort and to follow instructions and prohibitions from hotel staff.
The Russian man is not the first to be killed by a shark at the resort.
Last July, 68-year-old Austrian Elisabeth Sauer was attacked in front of shocked onlookers – 15 minutes after English-speaking guests warned Egyptian lifeguards about sharks. Their warnings were laughed at.
A second woman – identified only as a Romanian national in her 40s – is believed to have been killed in a similar attack just 200 yards away from where Sauer died, with her badly disfigured remains found the same day on a nearby reef.
The tourist – believed to be 23 years old – was in Egypt for a long stay. He was dubbed Vladimir Popov (pictured) by the Baza news outlet in Russia, and had moved to the resort with his father a few months ago
Ms. Sauer lost an arm and a leg in an attack that was caught on film as onlookers tried to distract the shark and get her to safety.
She made it to shore using a flipper, but died a short time later.
Reports at the time – from the AFP news agency and Austrian news outlets – indicated that the attack was committed by a Mako shark, while local Egyptian newspapers referred to the animal as an Oceanic whitetip shark.
It was not immediately clear which shark species carried out Thursday’s attack.