Sharm el-Sheikh tourist killed in new shark attack

A 70-year-old German tourist died after being mauled by a shark off the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh today – the latest in a series of shark attacks in the Red Sea over the past five days.

Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) sent an urgent message to its members in Sharm el-Sheikh, instructing them to clear the water.

"Following reports of another incident in Middle Garden local reef, CDWS is calling for all its members in Sharm el-Sheikh to stop any snorkelling activities happening from any boats or shore. Please tell all your boats to immediately recall any snorkellers who may be in the water," it said.

The group's chairman, Hesham Gabr, told the Guardian: "We are busy dealing with the crisis. I can confirm that a German woman was injured and she passed away."

According to security officials quoted by the Associated Press, the woman's arm was severed in the attack and she died within minutes.

Last week three Russians and a Ukrainian were badly injured.

The Egyptian authorities had said they were confident that the capture and killing of two sharks on Thursday had eliminated the threat to swimmers.

A 48-hour ban on entering the water had been lifted yesterday but all watersports, except for diving sites, have been closed again following today's attack.

Jochen Van Lysebettens, manager of the Red Sea Diving College at the resort, said the latest victim was a regular guest at the luxury Hyatt Regency hotel. He told Sky News: "The woman was just swimming to stay in shape. Suddenly there was a scream of help and a lot of violence in the water. The lifeguard got her on the reef and he noticed she was severely wounded."

Van Lysebettens said 40 diving instructors had been out in the waters in recent days to check for sharks after the initial catch. "They found nothing," he said. "Based on that the authorities opened the dive sites again and opened the watersports activities again."

He thought the same shark had been responsible for all the attacks. He suggested it may have been drawn to the coast by dead sheep left in the water. "I have no idea why this shark is behaving so aggressively," he continued.

"This must have been triggered by something in the past. Unfortunately in this case he is now looking at snorkellers."

A British couple tonight told the Guardian they were in a group of snorkellers that had to leave the water hurriedly on Saturday after a large shark circled round them. Christina Stafel-Collins, from Broughton, north Lincolnshire, said: "It was definitely an oceanic whitetip. We saw it so close-up. My husband is six foot and it was loads larger than him … I am so upset this woman has died. They should have shut the beaches ."

Her husband, Terry Collins, who was in the army for 24 years, said the shark had acted aggressively. "It was about three metres long. I was about 10 metres behind everyone else. I saw it come out of the depths and it went towards our leader. It circled him and began circling the group.

"It was deep grey and was that close I could see electric blue fish swimming in front of it. It was circling lazily but with intent," he said.

The boats that brought them to the area were on the other side of a reef the group had been circling.

Terry said when he raised his head he saw people on the board shouting warnings.

The swimmers had to make their way to the reef and rested there before swimming one by one across about 100 metres of open water to the boats.

"We tried to keep the splashing down."

Around three million tourists visit Sharm el-Sheikh each year, with the winter months peak season. The Red Sea, with its exotic fish and spectacular corals, is a magnet for divers and snorkellers.

Last week's victims were thought to have been attacked by an oceanic whitetip shark, which rarely swims close to the shore. Experts blamed tourists for throwing food into the water to lure fish in order to get a better close-up view.

"It is clear from our initial discussions with shark behavioural experts that this highly unusual spate of attacks by an oceanic whitetip shark was triggered by an activity, most probably illegal fishing or feeding in the area," Gabr said in a statement on Friday.

Conservationists from the South Sinai National Park caught two sharks on Thursday following the earlier attacks, which happened on Tuesday and Wednesday. The animals were dissected to examine the contents of their stomachs, although the results of the autopsy procedures were not released.

Tourists who witnessed one of last week's attacks, near Tiran beach, were shaken by the experience. Speaking before today's attack, many said they would not return to the water even if the authorities gave the all-clear.

"I was very close by," Uri, a tourist from Moscow, said. "I will be spending the rest of my holiday sitting on the beach."

But Anthony Bradbury, a 38-year-old from Oldham, said he was confident the authorities would catch the shark responsible.

"They'll look after the tourists – they want the trade, don't they? You can't live your life being scared of everything," he said.