Tourist in Egypt dies after shark attack off Egypt's Red Sea coast

On Friday, a tourist from the Czech Republic died off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea after he was attacked by a shark. The body of the man, who is reportedly in his forties, was found on a beach in Marsa Alam, a southeastern Egyptian town.

According to The Independent, a town official confirmed the man's death. The city council chairman, Atef Wagdy, said an ongoing investigation into the attack is currently underway.

The official warned swimmers in the area to take precautionary measures before going into deep waters.

"There is no problem in diving around Marsa Alam, but people who swim on the surface in deep waters beyond the coral can be vulnerable to attacks," he said.

In 2009, a French woman was killed by a shark on the Marsa Alam coastline while diving at a remote site. It is believed that the woman may have "aggravated the shark by offering it food".

"The woman's leg showed visible bite marks, and she likely bled to death before being lifted to the surface," a medical source said at the time, according to Reuters.

Sharks are commonly found in the area, however, attacks are quite rare. 

According to Marsa Alam's website, common species found in the Red Sea include "oceanic whitetip, scalloped hammerhead, silky shark, silvertip shark, tiger shark, whale shark, whitetip reef shark, zebra shark, and grey reef shark".

In 2015, a German tourist was killed after a shark attacked him off the coast of the Egyptian Red Sea resort of al-Quseir. 

The horrifying incident was the first since 2010, the year where a series of shark attacks led to the shut down of a Sharm El Sheikh resort for one week.