Three shark experts from the US are flying to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where a tourist was killed and four others badly injured in shark attacks during the past week.
Snorkelling and most watersports have been suspended at the Red Sea resort following the death of a 70-year-old German woman yesterday, but the authorities are allowing experienced divers into the water from tomorrow.
The trio of experts is expected to arrive during the next two days, with a fourth lending advice from his US research centre. The Egyptian tourist authorities will cover the costs. A Swedish vessel is also surveying the waters around Sharm el-Sheikh to track shark movements.
Yesterday's death occurred the day after authorities had allowed holidaymakers to return to the water following a 48-hour ban prompted by attacks on three Russians and a Ukrainian. Officials had said they were confident that the capture and killing of two sharks on Thursday had eliminated the threat to swimmers, although a British couple told the Guardian their snorkelling group had to scramble for safety after a large shark circled swimmers on Saturday.
Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) today said the shark experts would "form an advisory team to try to assess and advise on the best course of action following the shark attacks in areas north of Naama Bay this week".
They are Dr George Burgess, the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research and the curator of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Marie Levine, the head of theShark Research Institute at Princeton, and Ralph Collier, of the Shark Research Committee. Another expert, Erich Ritter, will assist from his research centre.
The CDWS said most diving sites near the resort would be open tomorrow, but not in the area where the attacks had happened. No introductory or training dives would be allowed. "All snorkel activities and other watersports - with the exception of glass-bottomed boat operations – remain suspended in the whole of the Sharm el-Sheikh coastal area," a CDWS statement said.
The organisation said it was "working continuously with all the relevant authorities and shark experts to try to resolve this situation in the most appropriate and safe way for all concerned". It said it did not in any way condone the random killing of sharks.
UK holiday operators were today trying to reassure customers in the resort, which is a popular winter destination for Britons. A spokeswoman for Thomson and First Choice said: "We continue to monitor the situation in this area, and will update our customers accordingly."
from : http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/06/sharm-el-sheikh-shark-experts
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar