A Russian man is dead after being mauled by a tiger shark off a crowded beach in the Egyptian resort city of Hurghada.
Russia’s Consulate General in the city confirmed the man died in the attack in a Thursday statement, according to Reuters.
The shark attack was caught on camera.
Video of the mauling shows a swimmer struggling and repeatedly being pulled under the water.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic images and audio that many viewers will find disturbing.
Shark attack at a beach in Egypt https://t.co/EJZcOjXfxl
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Blood appears in the water before the swimmer is finally pulled under without returning to the surface.
Russia’s Consulate General in Hurghada urged its citizens in Egypt to obey any swimming bans implemented by Egyptian authorities and to be vigilant in the nation’s waters.
The beach area where the mauling took place was closed off to swimming after the fatal attack.
Egyptian authorities have banned swimming near a beach at an Egyptian Red Sea resort following a deadly shark attack that killed a Russian citizen on Thursday, according to Egyptian and Russian officials. https://t.co/VRtWkRK8Ax
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Russian state media agency TASS identified the deceased as 23-year-old Vladimir Popov, according to multiple news reports.
Popov had been a full-time resident of Egypt for several months before the incident, the New York Post reported.
Popov’s body was recovered after the attack, and his father plans to have his remains cremated and returned to Russia for burial, according to the Daily Mail.
The outlet said Yury Popov was forced to watch helplessly from the shore as the shark circled his son before pulling him under water. Yury described Vladimir’s death as a tragic twist of fate.
“This is an absolutely ridiculous coincidence, because it is a safe beach. There are ships and yachts around. It’s never happened there. They usually attack on wild beaches. It’s just some kind of evil fate.”
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Egypt Minister of the Environment Yasmine Fouad later said authorities had captured the tiger shark in question, with plans to examine it for potential involvement in earlier attacks, according to CNN.
Tiger sharks are one of the species known for attacking humans, according to the Florida Museum. Those sharks are responsible for the second-most attacks on humans — just behind the great white.
