A pleasure dive took a horrific turn when a Ukrainian mother, her son and their guide were attacked Oct. 25 by a shark identified as an Oceanic whitetip shark.
The mother and her 12-year-old son were diving the clear Egyptian waters of Ras Mohamed Nature Reserve in the Sinai Peninsula during a traveling holiday.
The mother attempted to book an excursion with her hotel but was told boat dives had been banned in the reserve. The popular diving spot had been closed to boat diving since Nov. 1, 2019 to preserve the marine environment.
Eventually the mother was able to book a trip through a third party outside of the hotel they were staying. The group headed out to Ras Mohammed nature reserve to a spot identified as Shark Reef..
The group headed out to Ras Mohammed nature reserve on Oct. 25. to a spot that has been identified as Shark Reef.
At some point during the trip the shark, thought to be 2 meters in length, attacked the group, and severed the 12-year-old’s arm beneath the elbow. Both the mother and dive instructor were also injured during the attack.
A Ukrainian news source reported all three were in the hospital, and both the Egyptian government and a Ukraine insurance company have agreed to bear the cost of their medical treatment.
In an odd turn of events, several sources indicated the video taken in the area shows a shark behaving aggressively toward humans. If true, the question remains of how often people dive in the areas closed to diving.
The approximate location has been marked on the 2020 Shark Attack map.
Two other shark attacks were caught on video in Egypt.
In 2018 two divers were bitten by sharks in the Red Sea, and both incidents were caught on video.
Alexander Kraenkl was diving off Brothers Island June 2018 when he spotted an Oceanic whitetip shark. He watched the shark as he headed to the anchor rope to make his ascent to the dive boat. Once he reached the rope he turned his back to the shark, which had been following him and it grabbed his right thigh.
Kraenkl looked down to see the shark swim off and noticed blood coming form his leg. He ascended and was helped out of the water by his son and other divers.
A second unidentified German diver was with a group of around 20 people on Brothers Island Nov. 3, 2018 when a whitetip shark began circling. Dan White, who was with another dive group, spotted the shark and began filming it.
“I was recording the whitetip as I thought it was a cool encounter,” White told Tracking Sharks in 2018. “The day before we dove with three whitetips with no trouble at all.”
The shark bumped White’s friend three times as the German diver began to ascend and turned his back to the shark, which then grabbed the German diver’s leg. The diver had a severe injury to his calf and was treated on scene before being taken to the hospital.
Oceanic whitetip killed a tourist the same year.
Petr Blesk,42, was visiting Calimera Habiba Beach Aug. 3, 2018 when he walked out on a pier with his family. Around 3 p.m. the auto mechanic jumped off the end of the deep-water pier while his wife and 7-year-old daughter waited for lifeguards to bring them life jackets.
Blesk swam a short distance from the pier when he abruptly turned and began furiously swimming back to the pier. His wife saw a large shadow under the surface, and as her husband disappeared under the water, a shark was seen breaking the surface. Blesk’s remains were recovered on Marsa Alam Beach.
Several reports have come in from anonymous sources that some tourist guides were feeding sharks.
One report shared with Tracking Sharks included a video which reportedly shows dive operators, who were identified to be near Brothers Island, throwing fish to Oceanic whitetip sharks. There have also been questions as to animal parts being dumped in the water.
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