Egypt shark attack: Father describes how he watched tiger shark maul son to death

A distraught Russian father has informed of his horror at watching his son be mauled to demise by a ‘meat grinder’ tiger shark at an Egyptian resort as he screamed out: ‘Papa, save me!’

Yury Popov was pressured to look at helplessly from the shore because the predator circled his son Vladimir, 23, earlier than dragging him underneath water within the resort of Hurghada.

Holidaymakers scrambled from the water as horrified onlookers known as out to Vladimir to swim away from the shark earlier than he was mauled to demise.

The tiger shark was then caught and dragged to land by boat earlier than it was killed. 

‘We went to the seaside to calm down,’ Mr Popov, initially from Russia, informed the 112 media outlet. ‘My son was attacked by a shark, all of it occurred in seconds.’

Vacationers watched in horror from the shore because the beast wounded Vladimir Popov earlier than dragging him underneath the water

Holidaymakers scrambled from the water as horrified onlookers known as out to Vladimir (pictured) to swim away from the shark earlier than he was mauled to demise

The heartbroken father mentioned there have been no members of the family close to his son to assist in the water, although preliminary reviews mentioned the 23-year-old’s girlfriend had managed to flee the assault.

‘What sort of assist are you able to give? This meat grinder occurred in 20 seconds, he was simply dragged underneath the water,’ Mr Popov mentioned.

The daddy mentioned: ‘That is a completely ridiculous coincidence, as a result of it’s a protected seaside. There are ships and yachts round. It is by no means occurred there. They often assault on wild seashores. It is just a few type of evil destiny.’ 

Vladimir had been dwelling along with his father in Egypt for a number of months earlier than the horrific assault. Mr Popov mentioned he would cremate his son and return his ashes to their native Russia.

Video exhibits the tiger shark being caught and dragged ashore by a ship following the assault, and it gave the impression to be alive earlier than being clubbed to demise. 

The Egyptian authorities confirmed the shark has been handed over for analysis to search out out the causes of its behaviour and establish whether or not the animal is said to at least one that ‘precipitated a number of earlier accidents’.

Video taken by horrified onlookers exhibits Vladimir desperately shouting ‘Papa, Papa’ because the predator circled him within the water earlier than launching the assault. 

Vladimir Popov, 23, (pictured) has been named as sufferer of the shark assault in Hurghada

The sufferer Vladimir Popov (pictured) had moved to the resort along with his father a number of months earlier than the assault

The shark was later caught and clubbed to demise on the seaside (pictured)

The 23-year-old might be seen desperately attempting to swim in the direction of the shore to no avail. His physique is seen spinning within the water, and his legs are raised above the floor.

‘Swim away, swim away! Fast! A shark!’ folks might be heard shouting within the video. 

Quickly the splashing within the water stops, and the person’s head returns to the floor. He seems to be shifting round within the water once more however slowly.

He might be heard screaming ‘Papa’, pleading for assist, because the water turns purple.

The shark’s physique is seen clearly on the floor in the meanwhile, and its fin and tail are seen because it circles the sufferer. 

The shark turns round once more to assault and fees on the sufferer earlier than clamping its jaws round him and pulling him underneath water.

The person’s head seems above the water one final time, and the shark’s physique is seen writhing within the ocean because it seems to maul the physique and drag it additional into the depths of the water. 

One witness mentioned: ‘The shark’s consuming his stays now. There she is, consuming his stays.’ One other mentioned: ‘Proper in entrance of my eyes, the shark ate the man, the lady [the girlfriend] managed to flee. He took the blow from the shark. 

‘It is a horrible factor, the stays of this man are mendacity there.’

A brand new video confirmed a distraught lady on the seaside being comforted by two different lady moments after Vladimir was mauled to demise. 

It’s believed the Russian lady had been pulled out of the water after being near the person who was killed. It isn’t identified if she was a relative of Popov.

Up to now Popov’s father Yury is the one member of the household to talk.

After witnessing the assault, it evidently took a prolonged time to search out the physique and produce it onshore.

‘Later, the stays have been discovered, and the physique was put in a bag and brought to the morgue,’ he mentioned.

A brand new video confirmed a distraught lady on the seaside being comforted by two different lady moments after Vladimir was mauled to demise

A view of one of many seashores which have been closed after a Russian citizen was killed in a shark assault on the Egyptian Crimson Sea resort of Hurghada, on June 9, 2023

A ship at one of many seashores which have been closed after the shark assault in Hurghada

‘Youngsters swam [in the area where the shark attacked] fairly often – there have been youngsters’s slides,’ one other witness mentioned. 

‘All this occurred not removed from a descent into the ocean, subsequent to the ladder, utilized by everybody who went into the water. 

‘At one level, the shark appeared, and instantly bit this man. Rescuers noticed this and started to start out the boat. He tried to swim away from the shark, however he could not.

‘And the shark dragged the physique for 2 hours. It continually dragged him underneath the water.’

Witnesses mentioned the sufferer’s girlfriend had been within the water on the time of the assault. Russian reviews say she is protected and has returned to Russia. 

The Russian International Ministry confirmed the demise of a citizen from a shark assault. 

Vladimir had moved to the resort along with his father at a time when many younger males are shifting overseas to keep away from dealing with conscription – and certain demise – because the brutal struggle in Ukraine continues.

The household had purchased a property on the British Resort in Hurghada, say reviews.

Different accounts mentioned he had been staying on the four-star Elysees Dream Seaside Lodge in Hurghada.

IT specialist Vladimir ‘liked his father very a lot and was simply starting to reside’, mentioned a pal.

He was mentioned to be working remotely when he died, as are many younger Russian males who’re defying Putin.

Born in sub-Arctic metropolis Archangel, or Arkhangelsk, he had moved to Moscow earlier than decamping to Egypt amid the struggle with Ukraine.

His girlfriend, Anastasia, who’s in her early twenties, has thus far not spoken of the tragedy.

One feminine pal mentioned: ‘Vova [Vladimir] was man.

‘He was solely a month away from his birthday.

‘Buddies say that he moved there [to Egypt] along with his father.

‘So far as I do know, he actually preferred dwelling in Moscow, his entire life was there.

‘Vova was a beautiful individual and liked his father very a lot.’

Oleg, who knew the deceased man, mentioned: ‘He was into music. He recorded songs.’

Vladimir’s girlfriend Anastasia, who’s in her early twenties, has thus far not spoken of the tragedy

Vladimir Popov is seen along with his girlfriend Anastasia

There was hypothesis {that a} lady seen on the seaside being conformed by two different ladies was his mom.

However 360TV reported that she was at house in Balashikha, Moscow area.

A supply mentioned: ‘His mom cried all day. She screamed that she had misplaced her son.’

The commotion was so nice {that a} neighbour mentioned ‘we have been even afraid that somebody was being killed there’. Locals needed to name the police.

The 23-year-old will not be the primary sufferer to be killed by a shark on the resort.

In July final yr, 68-year-old Austrian Elisabeth Sauer was attacked in entrance of horrified onlookers at a resort in Sahl Hasheesh – quarter-hour after English talking visitors warned Egyptian lifeguards about sharks and their warnings had been laughed off.

The resort is a 30-minute drive from Hurghada, the place Vladimir was killed. 

A second lady – recognized solely as a Romanian nationwide in her 40s – is believed to have been killed in an analogous assault simply 650ft away from the place Ms Sauer died, along with her badly disfigured stays discovered on a close-by reef the identical day.

Ms Sauer misplaced an arm and a leg in an assault that was caught on movie, as onlookers tried to distract the shark and get her to security.

She reached the shore with the assistance of a flipper, however died a short while later.

Stories on the time – from information company AFP and Austrian information shops – pointed to the assault being dedicated by a Mako shark, whereas native Egyptian newspapers named the animal as an Oceanic whitetip shark.