A tourist died in a shark attack in the Red Sea near the Marsa Alam area

A shark attack on Egypt’s Red Sea coast has left one tourist dead and another injured, officials said.

The North African country’s environment ministry said in a statement that Sunday’s incident occurred north of Marsa Alam, a resort town in eastern Egypt popular with divers.

He added that the attack took place in “deep water outside the swimming area”.

While the ministry said only that the two victims were foreigners, AFP reported that they were Italian citizens, citing an unnamed source in Italy’s foreign ministry.

The 48-year-old man who died was a resident of Rome, and the victim was 69 years old, AFP reports.

Egyptian officials said the two tourists were taken to a hospital in Port Ghalib, about 30 miles north of Marsa Alam.

Authorities said the Marsa Alam swimming area will be closed while the incident is under investigation.

According to data compiled by the independent Shark Research Institute, there have been four confirmed deaths from shark attacks in the past 10 years.

The last one happened in June 2023 near Hurghada involving a 24-year-old Russian.