Warning: This piece contains graphic video that may be disturbing to viewers.
Tourists visiting the popular Egyptian resort of Hurghada watched a man get eaten alive by a shark just feet away from a crowded beach.
The incident occurred on the beach of the Dream Beach hotel, according to Russian media reports, which said the victim was a Russian citizen.
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Russia’s consul-general in Hurghada, Viktor Voropayev, told the country’s TASS news agency that the deadly attack happened Thursday.
“A Russian died as a result of the shark attack,” he said, identifying the victim as 23-year-old “V. Popov,” who he said was not a tourist but had been living in Egypt for several months. Russian media reports named the victim as Vladimir Popov.
Terrifying footage of the encounter shows hotel staffers screaming for swimmers to get out of the water as the shark’s fin can be seen approaching.
Popov can then be seen struggling with the shark before it becomes clear to all those watching that it’s a losing battle. According to Russian media reports, his father was watching on the beach at the time of the attack, and Popov had cried out for him as he struggled to escape the shark.
“It’s eating his remains now,” one witness who filmed the attack can be heard saying. Shortly after, the beast pulled him completely underwater.
Witnesses said rescuers tried to save Popov but by the time they got there, the shark had already gotten him.
A woman identified in Russian media reports as Popov’s girlfriend reportedly managed to swim away and escape. Footage showed her crying hysterically on the beach as bystanders tried to comfort her.
Tourists visiting the resort have reportedly now been banned from entering the water, and those who witnessed the grisly incident were in a state of shock.
“It happened in a second. Rescuers reacted very quickly. For some reason, I immediately felt that it was a shark. I immediately jumped up and started shouting: ‘Sharks, sharks! Save yourself!’ Nobody understood yet,” a witness told Russia’s REN-TV.
“It’s a terrible thing, the remains of this guy are over there. I’m shaking. Right in front of my eyes, the shark ate that guy. I think I need a drink. I feel really bad,” another woman told the Baza Telegram channel.
The killer shark was later captured and killed, the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
