Transcript of Episode 7
The Red Sea (Part 2)
The Hyatt Regency was sparkling in the Sunday morning sunshine on December 5th, 2010. The pristine gardens and terraces of the five-star hotel, shaded by tan-coloured sun umbrellas, looked out onto the intense blue of Naama bay. This panoramic view was a familiar one for Rudi and Renate Seiffert, an elderly German couple on their twelfth holiday to Sharm El-Sheikh. Such beauty drew them back to the Hyatt Regency Hotel time and time again. As noon approached, the day was heating up- already in the mid-twenties- and hordes of tourists were making the most of it, in and around the bay. To cool down Rudi wandered off to pick up an icy drink from a kiosk. Renate, meanwhile, slid into the water in her swimsuit, fixing a snorkel over her face. She then kicked off from the floating jetty, that jutted far out into the deep, completely unaware that she was in grave danger.
When Renate Seiffert’s screams for help pierced the air, it was not immediately clear to those within earshot what exactly it was she needed help with. Within a few moments though, as her hands waved desperately, it became all too clear. A large fin cut above the surface, and in a flash Renate was pulled under. From all directions, people watched this morbid scene- from the Hyatt terrace and private beach, on watercraft, and in the surrounding sea. The water all around the helpless woman churned as the frenzied shark ripped and tore at her with repeated bites. In numb disbelief those in nearby boats looked on- but no one came to Renate’s aid. Even resort lifeguards seemed to be paralysed by the horror of was unfolding right before their eyes. It very soon became apparent that rescue would be futile. As the thrashing died down, a limp body began slowly drifting in towards the beach on a red-tinged tide, before finally being carried ashore by lifeguards. Resuscitation attempts started but they were all in vain. And as her grief-stricken husband Rudi stood by, Renate Seiffert was pronounced dead. Her injuries were multiple and extensive, and would be described in a later report conducted by the Global Shark Attack File as ‘not survivable’.
Renate Seiffert’s tragic death offered brutal proof that the cull had failed to fix the problem. South Sinai Governor, Mohammed Shousha now admitted they had made a huge mistake reopening the beaches so soon and moved to close them indefinitely. The Governor’s speculation that Israeli special forces may have planted the deadly shark in the Red Sea, in order to hit Egyptian tourism, was received witheringly by international observers. It was clear such suggestions would not help to explain the strange phenomenon affecting Sharm El-Sheikh.
For the whole of the preceding century, there had only been nine recorded shark bite incidents in Egypt- and many of those were from sketchy reports. Yet since the turn of the century, an influx of tourists and the rise of beach holidays had seen a steep increase, with a total of sixteen in only seven years. The latest five had come in a rapid burst and rocked the North African nation, which was quickly losing control of the situation. Norwegian and Swedish tourism bodies were soon withdrawing hotel applications and bookings in Sharm. Thomson and First Choice advised British clients on package holidays to stay out of the sea during their stay there. In an attempt to counter this growing fear, on the 7th of December, General Ahmed el-Edkauri, the Deputy Governer, decided to stage a media spectacle. To prove its safety, donning a wetsuit he dived into the Red Sea, only a few hundred metres from where Renate Seiffert had lost her life. With a police boat and support divers not-so-discreetly patrolling the area, while the General played up to the cameras, it didn’t quite have the desired effect of reassuring tourists or agencies.
Criticism was also building over the apparent failings of local tourist bodies. Survivor Yevgeniy Trishkin complained that there hadn’t been a single warning sign on his resort’s beach, in spite of the attacks of the previous day. He also claimed authorities simply wanted to keep the shark threat hushed so as up to protect business. Other tourists echoed Trishkin’s criticisms, with some finding out about the attacks not from hotel staff, but later in the evening, following calls or messages from friends and family watching the news back home.
The Koliy family was also disappointed that on arriving at the hotel following their harrowing ordeal in Shark Bay, no one from the previously warm and attentive management asked how they were feeling, instead remaining silent and lowering their eyes in passing. As tourists and travel companies sought reassurances about sharks at Sharm El-Sheikh, it became clear that the local authorities and the Egyptian government were out of their depth in such matters. The shark cull had failed to provide the resolution they’d hoped for and they were out of ideas. Realising something different had to be done, in the search for answers they soon turned to a team of experts with a very special set of skills.
George Burgess had been working in the ichthyology division of the Museum of Florida since 1975, and when, in 1988 the museum formed its Shark Attack File database, Burgess became its director. Already well aware of the spate of shark attacks happening in Egypt, he was still somewhat surprised when contacted by the Egyptian government requesting his services. Eager to take part in such a fascinating case, he agreed to make the transatlantic journey to try to get to the bottom of it. George Burgess was not going to be working alone. A specialist team of experienced shark experts had been called in to join him. Ralph Collier, director of the Global Shark Attack File, and Marie Levine, director of the Shark Research Institute, were both on their way to Egypt too. Maverick zoologist Dr Erich Ritter was also signed up to support the trio remotely.
On arrival, Burgess voiced their initial suspicions. His team suspected something had altered the careful ecological balance in the coral rich coast- dismissing more fanciful notions of evolving sharks or geopolitical sabotage. What exactly was causing these changes at Sharm remained to be discovered, but Burgess, Levine and Collier set about their task purposefully. Over many decades the three researchers had become very familiar with these kinds of investigations. Through interviewing witnesses and survivors, studying photographs and pathologist reports, as well as gathering relevant information about the location, environment and its sharks, they knew how to get a clearer picture of how, but more importantly, why, attacks occurred. Though this investigation was no different in that sense, Burgess acknowledged that the particular circumstances of the spree attacks at Sharm El-Sheikh were extremely unusual, even for him.
First the team set about building a comprehensive picture of the coastline of Sharm and the shark species that inhabit its waters. Straight away the topography of the area struck them as significant. As they had observed in various other parts of the world, the sudden drop-off after a reef could result in sharks, following deep ‘seawater corridors’, suddenly finding themselves close to shore- and masses of unwitting swimmers and snorkellers. In a number of the incidents, namely those involving Yevgeniy Trishkin and Olga Martsinko, the person bitten had been swimming off the jetty right where the water suddenly plunged tens of metres.
This factor also tied in with another detail that stood out for the investigators- the species of the sharks involved. From studying photos and reports of bite marks and victim testimonies, Ralph Collier and Erich Ritter surmised that the same shark had bitten both Victor Koliy and Yevgeniy Trishkin. This finding was perhaps expected, considering the statistical improbability of two different sharks biting tourists, only five minutes and two hundred meters apart. More remarkably however, following comparison tests, the shark experts confirmed the unusual bite pattern was in fact one they recognised. It perfectly matched that of the mako shark caught by Egyptian authorities back on December 2nd. The abnormal shape of the bite, probably from previous injury by a fish hook, was unmistakable. Having observed the reactive culling of sharks in the wake of an attack more times than he could remember, Collier acknowledged that it was highly unusual for this scattergun approach to actually catch ‘the right shark’- as was the case here.
The presence of a shortfin mako in the north of the Red Sea, around the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, was a rare event in itself. Some experienced dive guides in Sharm had never seen one in many years of work- and those who had noted it as a once-in-a-blue-moon event. The last confirmed sighting of a mako there had been back in 2005. Their involvement in a bite on a human was considered rarer still- with fewer than ten such incidents ever recorded up to that point by George Burgess’s International Shark Attack File. Though they grow to almost four metres long and are certainly capable of inflicting severe injuries, these sharks are habitually pelagic, preferring wide, open ocean. Speeding through those waters at over 70kmph in pursuit of dolphins and swordfish, makos hardly ever encounter people- besides anglers in their boats or the crew of trawlers. In such encounters it is invariably the shark that comes off worse, the species being heavily targeted by sport, commercial and recreational fishing. What had drawn a mako shark in amongst the tourists of Sharm El-Sheikh- and compelled it to bite two of them on the morning of December 1st- was still an incomplete puzzle. But another clue was found under its skin.
During examination of the mako shark’s remains, Egyptian scientists had noted one alarming detail- the liver, where the majority of nutrients are stored, was significantly shrunken. This indicated that the shark had been suffering from severe malnourishment. As George Burgess and his team had presumed, an ecological imbalance was indeed at the root of it. In the week of the attacks at Sharm, the National Park data centre registered sea temperatures of 28-29 degrees Celsius- much higher than the normal range of 19-23. Linked to a global pattern of increases attributed to climate change, the freak temperatures had disturbed the shark’s metabolism, requiring it to waste huge reserves of energy to cool itself down. Starving as a consequence, it had followed the deep sea channels running into the beach in search of a meal, and in its desperation had bitten Viktor Koliy, pursued Victoria Koliy, and mere minutes later, removed the arm of Yevgeny Trishkin. From analysis of the predatory behaviour displayed by the hungry hunter, Ralph Collier believed it had been forced by perhaps a combination of ill health and deformity to go after ‘atypical prey’- something he had observed in a handful of other cases.
As convenient as it would’ve been to pin the entire series of attacks on one sick mako shark, the investigators knew for certain that couldn’t be true. For one, that shark had been culled before the fatal attack on Renate Seiffert. Evidence had also emerged to suggest that neither was that mako the shark involved at the beginning of the ill-fated week, when Olga Martsinko and Lyudmila Stolyarova were grievously injured. In actual fact, as would soon be demonstrated, an even more unusual pattern of behaviour lay behind those attacks- what some have called, the rogue shark.
On the evening of November 31st, as Lyudmila Stolyarova was undergoing surgical amputation, divemaster Hassan Ali reflected on what he had witnessed hours earlier. The species of shark that had approached him, moments before honing in on the Russian pensioner, was unmistakable- an oceanic whitetip. With its olive-brown body arched tensely, fins crowned with blotches of light, and accompanied as always by striped pilot fish, there could be no doubt. Ali had seen whitetips before in The Red Sea, usually on dives much further from shore, and though they could often display characteristic boldness, the aggression of this particular one was noteworthy. It was also larger than was typically seen, around three metres in length. However, there was one fine detail that distinguished this shark from any others.
Ali and his diving colleague, Fabio, had checked in with the client they had taken out on the afternoon Lyudmila was bitten. On this client’s underwater camera she had managed to capture a clear photo of this oceanic whitetip- and at once their eyes were all drawn to its tail. On the upper portion of the caudal fin, a notch was indented, perhaps made from the bite of another shark or some unknown accident. This characteristic identified the shark, just as a missing finger might a person. The team of George Burgess, Marie Levine and Ralph Collier, studied the remarkable photo once it had found its way to them; a rare kind of evidence- an identifying underwater image of a shark just before an attack. They knew then that the smaller oceanic whitetip caught by the Environment Ministry, two days after that photo was taken, was simply collateral damage. From the diver’s photograph, on top of eyewitness accounts, it was almost certain that, like the mako, the oceanic whitetip captured on film had been involved in an extremely rare double attack only minutes apart in Coral Bay on the afternoon of November 31st. But if it had escaped the Egyptian authorities’ hunt, could it have been the same shark that killed Renate Seiffert after the beaches had reopened almost a week later?
Honing in on the shark with the notched tailfin, the investigators, working with Egyptian marine biologists, began to create a timeline of its movements. They did so by piecing together video footage and eyewitness accounts of their subject. The oceanic whitetip was filmed on December 2nd by divers at Ras Zaatar, 30 kilometres south-west of Sharm- having moved down the coast following its encounters with Lyudmila and Olga. On December 7th it turned up again in Ras Zaatar. On both occasions it behaved placidly and was hand fed by dive instructors without incident. By December 8th the shark was once again spotted back near the scene of where it had likely attacked Renate Seiffert three days earlier- Naama Bay. A pattern was evident to the scientists. The shark would travel from Sharm el-Sheikh the short trip to Ras Zaatar, inside the Ras Mohammed National Park, before returning to the waters off Sharm two or three days later.
One further intriguing detail emerged from December 1st, when the same mako had bitten Viktor and Yevgeny. Lifesaver Ahmed Hassan insisted he had seen the distinctive bill-like fin of an oceanic whitetip shark break the surface alongside his Zodiac, only moments after he had lifted Yevgeny Trishkin to safety. Sure enough, closer examination of photographs of the Russian’s wounds indicated that some of the injuries to his forearm bore serrated cuts. Such serrations are typically found not in the puncturing bite of a mako; much more closely matching that of an oceanic whitetip. Could Yevgeny Trishkin have been unlucky enough to have been bitten by not one but two sharks? And was the oceanic whitetip possibly involved the same one linked to other incidents?
Although a definite link to Yevgeniy Trishkin’s attack could never be established, sightings and a tourist photograph from the Hyatt Hotel eventually emerged in the investigation to place the large female oceanic whitetip at the scene of the fatal attack. Confident now that the shark that killed Renate Seiffert was the same one that had injured Lyudmila Stolyarova and Olga Martsinko, it signalled a landmark discovery for the experts. Though serialised in the horror fiction of cheap novels or B-Movies, never before had convincing proof been presented of a so-called ‘rogue shark’- that is, one which is involved in two or more distinct harmful encounters with humans.
In video evidence obtained by the Egyptian authorities, and viewed exclusively by the shark team, a possible cause for the rogue shark’s predatory behaviour was visible. During footage filmed months before, the shark with the tail notch was recorded being hand fed by a divemaster- an illegal practice in The Red Sea, but one believed to have been widely carried out at the time. In a later research paper on the Egypt case, Ralph Collier and Marie Levine argued that the shark had learned to associate the human form with food. As a consequence it had bitten the victims’ buttocks, looking for where the box of fish would typically be; and bitten the hands, where food would normally be held.
While research as far back as Eugenie Clark’s bell tests in the 1950s suggest sharks could be trained to learn such patterns, there are some problems with the assessment. Hassan Ali witnessed Lyudmila Stolyarova being bitten first on the foot, and not at all on the buttocks, as appears to be inaccurately claimed in the research paper. The behaviour, appearance and position in the water of the snorkellers and swimmers targeted would also have differed greatly from that of the divers the shark had grown used to interacting with. Furthermore, such little data exists on oceanic whitetips biting humans, that it is hard to find any meaningful pattern in the bite placement of that species. From the small amount of data obtained in French Polynesia- an island where handfeeding sharks has been criticised for allegedly causing them to link humans with food- eight of thirteen bite incidents did not target the hands at all, as the theory would assume.
As with the renegade mako shark, surrounding factors were also explored to account for the strange behaviour of the rogue oceanic whitetip. Two in particular stood out. First of all, the South Sinai government had received a tip off that an illegal activity may have contributed to the sudden appearance of pelagic sharks at Sharm’s beaches. Reports of an enormous Australian freighter dumping sheep carcasses soon came to light. The deceased livestock had been disposed of in the Straits of Tiran, less than 2km from the shoreline of Sharm el-Sheikh and it was speculated that currents had drawn sharks, following the meat and the trailing blood slicks, into areas where holiday-makers were having fun. As punishment, a $200,000 fine was handed out to the transporters responsible.
Another far less obviously risky activity also gained prominence. Going back to the videos of gleeful tourists feeding fish in the shallows, alarm bells started ringing for the shark experts. With a steady supply of food along the shore, shoals of fish had begun to push towards beaches in anticipation of bread crusts and other scraps being fed to them. To suggest this activity was in the first place innocent, as some pleaded, was not entirely true. In reality, numerous signs in various languages had long been posted along Sharm’s coastline, warning that the feeding of fish was strictly prohibited. However, this ban went largely unenforced by resorts, a blind eye being turned in order to indulge tourists’ desires to be entertained. This carelessness would allow a dangerous change in shark behaviour to occur.
Marcus Maurer, manager of the Extra Dive Centre, attested that the tourists actions were bringing open water sharks inside the reefs to hunt. Sensitive to the low vibrations emitted by the movements of these hungry shoals of fish, sharks were lured closer to shore and into contact with humans. Years of overfishing out at sea had already steadily depleted their food supply, laying the foundations for these behavioural changes. Other illegal feeding practices may have played a role and also fell under the spotlight. Hassan Ali, who had been at the scene of the attack on Lyudmila Stolyarova, criticised the widespread practice of feeding sharks on glass-bottom boat tours. Others, such as biologist Dr Elke Bojanowski, even alleged illegal chumming of the waters to attract sharks for tourists’ enjoyment. As in the days of Israel’s Ofira holidays, many tourists wanted and expected to see sharks, and many tour operators felt under pressure to oblige them, in spite of potential risks.
George Burgess and his team felt satisfied they had finally got to the bottom of the problem. Now that all the main factors at play had been identified, it was up to the governing bodies in Sharm to act. Following the advice of experts, they introduced a wide range of shark mitigation measures. On the beaches, lifeguard towers were installed and used along with patrol boats to spot any sharks in the area. Education was also implemented for both tourists and staff. Lifeguards at resorts, who had come in for some criticism, were trained to respond properly to shark bites, while planes arriving in Sharm showed incoming visitors instructional videos about how to stay ‘shark safe’. However, one issue in particular was singled out for reform. Salem Saleh, the director of Sharm’s Tourist Authority, insisted that the most important thing was that feeding fish and sharks in the city’s waters ceased immediately. This was reflected in severe $50,000 fines brought in to deter anyone thinking of ignoring the ban.
But before any of these new measures could really be put to the test, another dramatic chapter in the tumultuous history of Sharm el-Sheikh opened. On the 25th of January 2011, the Arab Spring Revolution exploded into life. What followed was years of instability in the country, with most foreign tourists deserting the spectacular resorts of the South Sinai amid this continued unrest.
The four survivors of the 24 hour spate of attacks in 2010 have since faced significant challenges. Undoubtedly Viktor, left with scarring on the knee and some bad memories, got off more lightly than the others. Olga, Lyudmila and Yevgeniy however had to undergo surgery and lengthy periods of hospitalisation and rehab, following what Ralph Collier described as ‘some of the most horrible injuries’ he had ever seen. Adapting to life as amputees has been extremely difficult, with both ladies in particular suffering from phantom pains where their missing limbs had once been. Nevertheless, in the light of Renate Seiffert’s death days later, they felt grateful to have lived to tell the tale. In recognition of their traumatic experiences they were paid $50,000 each in compensation by the Egyptian government, which helped to pay medical bills. Their insurers initially were not so helpful, denying the victims claims and refusing to pay out on the dubious grounds that their surgeries had been ‘cosmetic’.
In an uncharacteristic move, three of the shark investigation team recommended the euthanizing of the rogue shark involved in three, or possibly four, of the attacks. It was decided that she had developed a dangerous attitude towards humans and posed a continued threat. Particularly disturbing was the evidence of consumption in the case of Renate Seiffert, suggesting she may increasingly view humans as prey. However, the recommendation was never carried out. Perhaps she died of disease, old age or accident, or just migrated away, but no further trace of this most unusual shark was ever found. Along with the malnourished mako caught in the Ministry’s cull, it was hoped these two sharks and the strange patterns of behaviour they exhibited could be written off as aberrations. Unfortunately some unsettling, more recent events have suggested wider unresolved issues in the ecology and shark population of the Red Sea.
About 350km south of Sharm el-Sheikh lies the quickly growing tourist haven of Marsa Alam, a location likewise revered by scuba divers and snorkelers for its rich coral wonderland. On a March afternoon in 2015, a 52 year old German tourist was swimming alone across Coraya Bay in Marsa Alam, when splashing broke out around him. In the narrow bay, not too far off, a lifeguard in a Zodiac saw the disturbance and whizzed to the scene. In the twenty seconds it took him to arrive, the stricken tourist had been dragged around 30 metres from where he was first bitten, powerless to resist the force of the shark tightly holding his leg. Two more rescue efforts from the Zodiac were foiled before finally the tourist was pulled out of the water by the lifeguard. A split second later the shark appeared, rising high up on the side of the inflatable boat in apparent pursuit- revealing the pointed head and spear-like teeth of a shortfin mako. As it lingered in the bay, the injured swimmer was raced ashore and emergency services were called. But it would be too little too late. For all the first aid efforts of the lifeguards, the man’s leg had been severed just above the ankle, and before an ambulance arrived he bled out on the white sand.
The death of the German man- unnamed in the press- marked the first human fatality ever recorded by a mako shark. A journalist from German diving magazine Tauchen reported it as ‘absolutely atypical’. Others in the media raised once again the question of ecological imbalance. The great reduction in tourist numbers had revitalised the coral reefs around Sharm and along the Sinai coast. Yet overfishing in The Red Sea had continued unabated, and many suggested it had contributed to the unprecedented fatality. Its regular open sea prey obliterated by trawlers, the mako was condemned to looking elsewhere for food, leading to the tragic outcome.
An event on October 25th 2020, near Sharm el-Sheikh, also resurrected some of the horror and confusion of almost ten years before. On that morning a Ukrainian lady was looking for a boat tour to take her and her 12 year old son diving in the Ras Muhammed Reserve, but her offers had all been turned down. They were told firmly at their hotel that the previous November, the government had brought in a ban on diving from boats in the Reserve, in order to conserve its ecosystem. Regardless, such warnings would not discourage the woman and she eventually managed to make a deal with an unverified operator away from the hotel. It was a deal both parties would soon come to regret.
A short while later, as part of an illicit six-person excursion, they were enjoying a dive among the coral reef when their day out took a dramatic turn for the worse. The appearance of a medium-sized oceanic whitetip at Shark Reef was not entirely out of the ordinary, but its manner certainly was, as it proceeded to harass and circle the nervous divers almost as soon as it arrived. The first victim of its aggression was the 12 year old boy. Although he had huddled close to his mother and an Egyptian guide, the shark stole in and latched onto his arm. The boy’s companions eventually managed to pull him away and they all climbed into the shallows over a reef to get out of reach. Regrouping, after a couple of minutes the diving expedition felt the coast was clear, and set off back towards the boat to call for help. But as they edged their way over, the shark reappeared out of nowhere, and the attack recommenced. When it finally subsided and transport to hospital could be arranged, there were three victims in need of treatment. The attack had been so ferocious that the young boy’s arm could not be saved, while the dive guide very nearly lost his leg. The boy’s mother was also treated for deep cuts sustained in the fight to save her son.
It’s certain that as tourists return to Sharm el-Sheikh in increasing numbers, lured back by its enduring wonders, uncertainties surrounding sharks and the wider ecosystem persist. Some officials had suggested back in 2010, and again after, that such incidents would only occur with snorkelers. But once again an event off Sharm had left everyone searching in vain for answers. Though some efforts have been made to provide solutions, the sense remains that this story is not over just yet.
Then again, it may be that while walls are built, watchtowers erected, and restrictions enforced, there are some unknowns that can’t always be controlled. George Burgess, now retired from the International Shark Attack File, certainly thinks so. He maintains the belief that people must accept those limits every time they step into the water, warning ‘the sea is a wilderness, just like a jungle. It can never be made entirely safe for humans, in Sharm el-Sheikh or any other resort. We can only reduce the odds’.