CAIRO: Two women, one Austrian and the other Romanian, were killed in a shark attack this week off the coast of Egypt, Egypt’s environment ministry and the tourists’ respective foreign ministries said Sunday.

“Two women were attacked by a shark while swimming” in the Sahl Hasheesh area south of Hurghada on the Red Sea, the Egyptian ministry said Sunday on Facebook, reporting that both died.

Austrian news agency APA said one of the women was a 68-year-old from the country’s Tyrol region who was holidaying in Egypt.

Austria’s foreign ministry confirmed to AFP Sunday “the death of an Austrian citizen in Egypt”, without providing further details.

Citing information received from Egyptian authorities, Romania’s foreign ministry confirmed to AFP on Sunday “the death of a Romanian citizen” which “appeared” to have been caused by a “shark attack” off Hurghada.