SHARM EL-SHEIKH (Egypt) - More than 40 professional hunters have combed the waters off the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to ensure that they were clear of sharks after attacking four divers in two separate incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday, a senior diving official said Friday. "The 40 hunters have finished combing the waters to catch any other shark in the area, where the attack took place," Hesham Gabr, the head of the Chamber of Diving and Sea activities in Sharm el-Sheikh, said. An oceanic white tip shark injured three Russians near the Ras Nasrani area on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Environment Ministry said the shark had been captured and was now being held at the Ras Mohamed marine park. Gabr, however, suggested illegal fishing might have disturbed the shark, leading it to act in such an aggressive manner. He did not rule out the possibility that the attacks that left four people injured may have been caused by a ship dumping dead sheep into the water. Gabr said that the shark attacks, which involved two sharks in separate incidents, on three Russian and one Ukrainian tourists, may have been spurred by a livestock-transporting ship dumping dead sheep overboard into the ocean. The attacks occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday near the tourist destination of Sharm el-Sheikh, on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula in eastern Egypt. Gabr said that the diving sports were slowly returning to normal after the hunters completed combing the waters.
