Shark rips off woman's arm and leg at Egypt's Sharm el Sheik

The Egyptian authorities are facing questions for approving the return of swimmers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik despite warnings that a killer shark was still on the loose.

On Sunday, a 70 year-old German woman, was killed as she snorkelled close to the shore in the tourist resort. The attack was the fifth in the area in a week. Witnesses, including a British mother-of-two, reported in graphic detail how they heard the victim screaming but they could not see the victim because the shark's thrashing, as well as her blood, made it impossible to see, Telegraph informs.

"This incident has clearly shocked our community, and the CDWS is continuing its investigation into why this may have happened," Hesham Gabr, head of the Chamber of Diving and Watersports, said in the statement. "It is clear from our initial discussions with shark behavioral experts that this highly unusual spate of attacks by an oceanic white tip shark was triggered by an activity, most probably illegal fishing or feeding in the area."

Several divers in the area saw carcasses of dead sheep in the water last week, Van Lysebettens, general operations manager of the Red Sea Diving College in Sharm el-Sheikh, said. It's not known how they got there, he said, but they could have washed out to sea or fallen off a boat. The shark may have been attracted by the carcass, he said, and could now be attacking slow-moving things on the water's surface, CNN reports.