Woman loses arm in shark attack after mistaking predator for tuna fish

Panicked tourists fled the popular beach resort 80 km northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh

The shark struck when the female tourist was swimming with a friend

A woman has lost her arm in a shark attack after mistaking the predator for a tuna fish.

Social media users have shared footage of tourists leaving the beach in the aftermath of the attack that took place in Laguna Beach, Dahab, Egypt

The woman was said to be swimming with her friend in the Red Sea when the shark savaged her left arm and fellow swimmers say they thought the shark was a tuna fish, according to reports in The Mail.

Her condition is stable as she was found in the sea in an unconscious state and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

Egypt’s Ministry of Environment announced the closure of the beach in the popular coastal city in the wake of the attack.

The resort lies in (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The attack comes after a 23-year-old  Russian died after being mauled by a tiger shark in another Egyptian beach resort, off the coast of Hurghada.

Vladimir Popov was swimming in the sea off the resort near the city of Hurghada when a tiger shark grabbed him from below the waters.

In a shocking video of the attack the man appeared to cry ‘papa’ in desperation.

His dad witnessed the attack from the shore and spoke out at the time.

Speaking to 112 media outlet he said:  “My son was attacked by a shark, it all happened in seconds.”

“What kind of help can you give? This meat grinder happened in 20 seconds, he was just dragged under the water.”

“This is an absolutely ridiculous coincidence, because it is a safe beach. There are ships and yachts around. It’s never happened there. They usually attack on wild beaches. It’s just some kind of evil fate.”

Shark attacks in Egypt are relatively rare, however this incident comes afrer two fatal attacks in the beach resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada in 2022.