Shark beaten to death after horrific video of attack in Egypt goes viral; lockdown on beaches lifted

The tiger shark believed to be responsible for killing a young man on a beach in Egypt has been killed by locals, reports have said.

According to authorities, 23-year-old Vladimir Popov was killed last week when a shark attacked him, in front of stunned tourists, off the coast of Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada.

A distressing video of the incident began circulating on social media, showing the man struggling to escape from the shark, screaming for his father as he is pulled underwater several times.

Russian Consul-General Viktor Voropayev told state-owned TASS news agency that the Egyptian authorities confirmed he death of the Russian national, who was born in 1999.

"The victim was not a tourist, but a permanent resident of Egypt," Voropayev told the news agency.

Egypt's environment ministry said a team had captured the shark "to inspect it", saying it had displayed "abnormal behaviour... resulting in the incident".

Locals later drove out to sea in boats to capture the shark, securing the animal they believe to be the one that killed Popov in a net. They then caught the shark and brought it to the beach.

A video circulating online shows furious locals beating the animal, which appears to be alive, with metal poles as it writhes around furiously. Onlookers are seen gathering around the animal as one man beats the shark over the head and attempts to pry open its mouth.

Following the brutal mauling, Egypt put its beaches on lockdown, with authorities cracking down on snorkelling, swimming and watersports for fear that more beachgoers may be attacked. The ban, affecting beaches from the northern El-Gouna Resort to the south border of Abu Souma Bay, has now been lifted.

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