The Egyptian government officially announced the death of two women as a result of a shark attack at one of the tourist resorts south of Hurghada city overlooking the Red Sea coast.

In a statement from the Ministry of Environment on Sunday, Minister Yasmin Fouad said that the shark attacked the two women while they were practicing surface swimming in the area facing the resort in Sahl Hasheesh south of Hurghada.

 
Fouad pointed out that "a working group was formed from specialists in the Red Sea reserves and the Hipka Association," while the Red Sea governor, Major General Amr Hanafi, decided to "completely stop all human activities around the site of the attack."

 
The Minister of Environment said that she "directed the formed committee to investigate the situation and determine the scientific reasons and circumstances of the attack incident."

The specialized working team is still striving "to accurately reach the reasons for the behaviors caused by the shark responsible for the incident towards the two deceased," according to the statement.

The Ministry of Environment expressed its condolences to the families of the victims.

While the ministry did not disclose the nationality of the two victims, press reports mentioned that one of them was Austrian.

Shark attacks are rare in Egypt. Most of these attacks occurred in the Red Sea. Some resulted in the death of some tourists, others suffered injuries, while others survived.