At an Egyptian resort, a distressed Russian father described how he watched helplessly as his son cried, "Papa, save me!" before being mauled to death by a "meat grinder" tiger shark.
In the Hurghada resort, Yury Popov was compelled to watch helplessly as the predator circled his son, Vladimir, 23, before pulling him below, according to the Daily Mail.
As terrified bystanders yelled for Vladimir to swim away from the shark before he was mauled to death, tourists scrambled from the water.
The tiger shark was then captured, boated to land, and put to death.
Despite earlier reports claiming the 23-year-old's girlfriend had managed to escape the attack, the distraught father claimed no family members were around to assist him in the water.
He said that it was a coincidence considering that it is supposed to be a safe beach, with ships nearby. Popov also noted that, usually, the sharks attacked wild beaches and remarked that what happened to his son was some kind of "evil fate."
Before the horrifying incident, Vladimir had been staying with his father in Egypt for a couple of months. Popov stated that he would cremate his kid and bring his ashes back to their home country of Russia.
Shark Attack Caught on Video
Following the attack, the tiger shark is seen on video being caught and hauled ashore by a boat; it was still alive when it was fatally clubbed.
The shark has been given over for studies to ascertain the reasons behind its behavior and determine whether the animal is related to one that has "caused several prior accidents," according to the Egyptian authorities.
Vladimir can be heard anxiously yelling "Papa, Papa" in footage captured by startled bystanders as the predator circled him in the water before attacking.
The 23-year-old is seen making futile attempts to swim toward the coast. His legs rise above the water's surface, and his body is seen spinning in the water.
The man's head comes back to the surface as the splashing in the water ceases. He looks to be swimming gently once more in the water.
The shark's body is visible at the surface; its fin and tail are visible as it circles the victim.
Once more, turning around to strike, the shark charges the victim before encircling him in its jaws and dragging him beneath the sea.
The shark's body is visible, writhing in the water as it appears to maul the man's body and drag it deeper into the sea as the man's head emerges from the water one more time.
According to witnesses, the victim's girlfriend was in the water when the incident occurred. According to Russian reports, she is safe and traveled back to Russia.
Not A First
The foreign ministry confirmed the death of a Russian person due to a shark attack. The 23-year-old is not the first person to die at the resort at the hands of a shark.
Elisabeth Sauer, 68, an Austrian, was attacked in Sahl Hasheesh in July 2022 in front of terrified witnesses at a resort - 15 minutes after English-speaking visitors warned Egyptian lifeguards about sharks, but their warnings had been laughed off.
Related article: Shark Could Have Killed Snorkeling Woman in Maui; Officials Conclude After Husband Recalls Incident
