Egypt has closed its beaches after the brutal shark attack that killed a 23-year-old in front of his distraught father.
Authorities cracked down on snorkeling, swimming and water sports after Vladimir Popov was killed by a tiger shark in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada.
Witnesses say the victim’s now grieving girlfriend was in the water at the time of the attack while his helpless father watched from shore.
The ban is in effect until tomorrow, affecting beaches from the northern El Gouna resort to the southern border of Abu Souma Bay.
In a statement, Egypt’s Environment Ministry said: “Dr. Yasmin Fouad, the Environment Minister, instructed the staff specialized in dealing with the shark attack on one of Hurghada’s pioneer beaches to apply all global guidelines to achieve the highest level of security for the Red Sea coasts, and all sorts of them Take action to prevent the repetition of the shark attack incident again.
Vladimir Popov (pictured), 23, was killed by a tiger shark in the Egyptian resort of Hurghada
“Given the abnormal behavior of the sharks that caused the incident and the fact that there has been a history of attacks of this species on humans, the fisheries team investigated the fish that caused the incident to determine possible causes of the incident attack.” and whether it was so. “The same fish that caused previous accidents.”
Distraught father, Yury Popov, shared his horror as he watched his son being torn apart by the “meat grinder” while screaming, “Dad, save me!”
Holidaymakers scrambled out of the water as horrified onlookers shouted at Vladimir to swim away from the shark before he was bludgeoned to death.
The tiger shark was then caught and dragged ashore by boat before being killed.
“We went to the beach to relax,” Russian-born Mr. Popov told media portal 112. “My son was attacked by a shark, it happened within seconds.”
The heartbroken father said there were no family members near his son to help him in the water. However, the 23-year-old’s girlfriend reportedly managed to flee the attack.
“What help can you give? “This meat grinder was ready in 20 seconds, it was just pulled under the water,” said Mr. Popov.
“It’s an absolutely ridiculous coincidence because it’s a safe beach.” There are ships and yachts nearby. That has never happened there. They usually attack on wild beaches. It’s just kind of an evil fate.’
After the attack, authorities cracked down on snorkeling and swimming activities
Witnesses say the victim’s girlfriend, Anastasia (pictured right), was in the water at the time of the attack while his helpless father watched from shore
Tourists watched in horror from the shore as the beast wounded Vladimir Popov before dragging him under the water
Tourists watched in horror from the shore as the beast wounded Vladimir Popov before dragging him under the water
Vladimir lived with his father in Egypt for several months before the terrible attack.
But Mr Popov said he would cremate his son and take his ashes back to their native country of Russia.
The video shows the tiger shark being caught and pulled ashore by a boat. He appeared to be alive before he was slain.
Egyptian authorities confirmed the shark was handed over for research to find out the causes of its behavior and to determine if the animal is related to an animal that “has caused several previous accidents”.
“Later the remains were found and the body was placed in a sack and taken to the morgue,” he said.
So far, Popov’s father Yury is the only family member who has spoken out.
His girlfriend Anastasia, in her early 20s, has not spoken out about the tragedy.
However, a friend added that Vladimir was a “good guy” who loved his father very much.
“He was only a month away from his birthday,” she said. “Friends say he moved there.” [to Egypt] with his father.’
Holidaymakers climbed out of the water as horrified onlookers shouted at Vladimir (pictured) to swim away from the shark before he was beaten to death
Vladimir’s friend Anastasia, in her early 20s, has not spoken out about the tragedy
Shortly after Vladimir was beaten to death, a distraught woman was seen on the beach being comforted by two other women
“As far as I know, he really liked living in Moscow, he spent his whole life there.
“Vova was a wonderful person and loved his father very much.”
The horrific attack follows another in Sahl Hasheesh last year in which 68-year-old Austrian Elisabeth Sauer was manhandled in front of horrified onlookers at a resort in Sahl Hasheesh – 30 minutes from Hurghada where Vladimir was killed.
A second woman – who is just a Romanian national in her 40s – is believed to have also been killed in a similar attack, just 200 meters from where Ms Sauer died. Her badly disfigured remains were found on a nearby reef the same day.
Ms Sauer lost an arm and leg in an attack that was filmed as onlookers tried to distract the shark and guide it to safety.
She reached the shore with the help of a fin, but died a short time later.
At the time, the AFP news agency and Austrian news agencies reported that the attack was carried out by a mako shark, while local Egyptian newspapers dubbed the animal an oceanic whitetip shark.