An Italian man is dead after a shark attack at the Egyptian resort where he was vacationing.
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Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, was snorkeling at the Red Sea Sataya Resort on the coast of Marsa Alam when the attack occurred. He was visiting the resort with his wife and son, as well as his friend Giuseppe Fappani, 69, and Fappani’s wife, Corriere Della Sera.
The group were visiting Egypt in celebration of Di Gioia’s recent birthday. He and Fappani were snorkeling together when they were approached by a tiger shark.
As their wives watched helplessly from the shore, the friends attempted to fight off the attacking creature.
Di Gioia’s wife, Laurence, “shouted for help and a dinghy left the beach,” recalled Della Sera.
She added that there was a moment when it seemed the men would make it back to shore safely. However, Di Gioia was fatally wounded when the shark attacked again.
The pair were rushed to a hospital in Port Ghalib where Di Gioia later died. Fappani has since been discharged.
Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, died of a shark attack while vacationing in Egypt.
Following the shocking attack, authorities closed the pier and the stretch of sea where Di Gioia was killed.
Egyptian authorities are also looking into the incident. The Ministry of the Environment and the Red Sea Governorate will conduct a series of investigations to reconstruct what happened.
According to The Quasir Prosecutor’s Office, the attack occurred “in deep waters outside the bathing area.” Di Gioia and Fappani were reportedly snorkeling beyond the coral reef, which, theoretically, makes it more difficult for sharks to access the area near the beach.
“Such incidents usually occur in spring or summer,” a local authority added, noting the rarity of a shark attack this time of year.
There have been four fatal shark attacks in the Red Sea over the last 10 years, according to data collected by the Shark Research Institute, cited by the BBC.
Di Gioia was originally from Rome, but had been living in France where he worked for the European External Action Service (EEAS) of the EU for twelve years.