Sharks have long been the main antagonist in way too many survival horror films.
While the elasmobranch-type of fish is indeed built for being a top predator of the sea, sharks rarely attack humans.
In fact, according to media reports, there were a little more than 50 shark attacks in 2022. In total, there were less than 10 fatal attacks that year. In comparison, around 100 million sharks are killed each year worldwide for whatever reasons. Researchers calculated that around 5% of all sharks in the world are killed annually.
In other words, a lot more sharks are killed by men, than men even encountering a shark.
Beachgoers are more likely to be injured or killed by coastal features like rip tides and strong currents than by sharks, according to the World Health Organization.
For this reason, it's extremely rare for a shark attack to be recorded.
This time however, that rare incident happened, and because of that, the video quickly went viral.
It happened at the beach of a hotel in the Egyptian city of Hurghada.
The beach resort location along Egypt’s side of the Red Sea, stretches some 40 kilometers, and is renowned for scuba diving, numerous dive shops, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, coffee shops, souks and more.
Due to how popular the place is amongst tourists, Hurghada’s long stretch of sandy beach is lined with resorts and also hotels.
One day, Vladimir Popov from the Arkhangelsk, a city in Russia, was swimming in the water, just like many others. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Until a beast showed up.
Popov who was swimming with his girlfriend, couldn't outswim the shark, and as a result, he became the shark's chew toy.
Failing to flee the jaws of the shark, the sea water near him turned red. It didn't take long before he disappeared from sight.
In a video circulating online, filmed by a witness, shows what appears to be a huge splash and commotion in the water.
The tragedy happened around 30 miters from the beach, and right in front of other tourists.
"She is now eating up his remains," said a woman in the viral video, off-camera, referring to how the shark was devouring the 23-year-old man, while everyone couldn't do anything but watch, while terrified onlookers scream for help.
At the same time, the surviving woman was crying, while she sat on the shore, and bystanders tried to comfort her.
"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," said another witness.
"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," said another.
Diver who arrived on the scene just after the attack said that they were notified after people had rushed to a nearby hotel to raise the alarm, but unfortunately, they were not able to reach him in time.
It's worth noting that both the authorities and vacationers have seen at least a fin above the water for the past few days before the incident.
However, they all thought that it was just dolphins swimming.
Both sharks and dolphins are known to swim close to the surface from time to time, and when they do that, their fins are usually visible.
From a far, the fins of sharks and dolphins are very similar.
After the incident, the authorities have closed off a 74-kilometre stretch of the coastline, and bans all forms of water activities until at least Sunday.
It is later reported that the shark that ate the man, was a Tiger Shark.
This was also confirmed by Egypt’s Environment Ministry in a report on Facebook, saying that a Tiger Shark was responsible for the man’s death.
A Tiger Shark can be distinguished by their dark, vertical stripes on either side, which are reminiscent of tiger markings. These stripes fade with maturity.
While these sharks aren't the largest of sharks, they're pretty aggressive. The species has long been known to attack swimmers and surfers without warning, and can be deadly even when unprovoked.
Tiger Sharks is second in line, behind the Great White, in recorded human fatalities.
But unlike the Great White Sharks that are considered epipelagic fish that prefer deeper waters and can travel thousands of kilometers per year, Tiger Sharks prefer tropical, temperate waters because they prefer hunting in warmer currents. And because they can live near the coast in hunt in close proximity to the water, people can encounter Tiger Sharks while swimming just off the shore.
It's also worth noting that Popov wasn't actually a tourist, given that he had been living in Egypt for several months.
Not long after the incident made headlines, the authorities added to their report, that the shark has been captured, and has been transferred to a laboratory "for examination and all required information to determine the possible causes of the attack."
It's also worth noting that in 2022, there were two attacks in Hurghada within days that killed an Austrian and a Romanian tourist, both of whom were female.