Sharks attack 4 Russian tourists in Egypt biting off their arms

Four Russian tourists have been attacked by a shark while swimming in the Red Sea close to their Egyptian beach hotels.

An oceanic whitetip attacked two of the tourists off the resort of Sharm el Sheikh on Tuesday, biting off their arms.

And according to Mohammed Salem, director of Sinai Conservation, the same shark may have been responsible for a second, separate attack on a Russian couple who were swimming in the same area, Sky News reports.

All four victims were flown to Cairo for medical treatment and were in critical condition.

Mohammed Salem said coast guard authorities were hunting for the shark and had issued a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water in Sharm el-Sheikh - a famed scuba diving destination.

He said that Egypt saw up to two fatal shark attacks a year and that injuries related to attacks increased as the number of swimmers in the Red Sea rose, Daily Mail reports.