An Italian tourist has told how he desperately tried and failed to rescue his friend from the jaws of a tiger shark while the couple were on holiday in Egypt.
Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, from Rome, had been snorkelling at a beach opposite the glamorous Red Sea Sataya Resort on the coast of Marsa Alam before the attack.
The tourist, who worked in the European External Action Service, the diplomatic service of the European Union, was at sea with his friend Giuseppe Fappani, 69, while they celebrated Di Gioia’s recent birthday.
But the trip took a horrifying turn when the pair were approached by a tiger shark in Egyptian waters, while swimming just 50 meters from the beach in an area where the resort’s jetty allows tourists access beyond the coral reef.
talking to Corriere della SeraFappani’s wife recalled the brutal attack after helplessly watching it unfold from a nearby dock.
She said she saw her husband, whom she calls Peppino, swim toward Di Gioia in a desperate attempt to scare away the shark before it bit him on the arms and legs.
In a surprising moment, Fappani allegedly managed to push the beast away for a brief moment before it returned furiously.
From the shore, as soon as she saw the couple in danger, Di Gioia’s wife, Laurence, who was also watching in horror from the dock, “screamed for help and a boat left the beach.”
EU official Gianluca Di Gioia is the victim of a shark attack in Marsa Alam, in the Red Sea.
The 48-year-old Roman lost his life when a tiger shark mauled him in a luxurious Egyptian resort, a few days after celebrating his birthday.
The tragic incident took place on a beach in front of the Sataya Resort, one of the most glamorous on the Marsa Alam coast of the Red Sea.
According to Fappani’s wife, for a moment there was a glimmer of hope that the men would return to shore with non-life-threatening injuries as they hurried to swim back to the dock.
But only Fappani managed to return to the beach when Di Gioia was caught in the predator’s jaws while his wife remained helpless on the dock.
The Italian tourist’s injuries to his arms and legs were so serious that it was not known if he would survive the attack.
The couple was then rushed to a hospital in Port Ghalib, where Di Gioia tragically passed away and Fappani has since been discharged.
The victim’s wife and son, who were also at the complex, were placed in the care of the tour operator Alpitour and the Italian embassy to receive the necessary support.
Egyptian authorities have now opened an investigation into the “anomalous” incident, while the Ministry of Environment and the Red Sea Governorate are launching a series of investigations to reconstruct what happened.
The attack – according to the Quasir Prosecutor’s Office – occurred ‘in deep waters outside the bathing area’, that is, beyond the coral reef, which should prevent or at least make it difficult for the sharks to access the nearby area. to the beach
“These incidents usually occur in spring or summer,” said one of the local authorities after the case, highlighting how rare a shark attack is in this season.
Following the shocking incident, authorities closed the pier and the stretch of sea where the EU diplomat was murdered.
Di Gioia had been swimming just 50 meters from the beach, in an area where the resort’s jetty allows tourists access beyond the coral reef.
The Italian tourist’s injuries to his arms and legs were so serious that it was not known if he would survive the attack.
Egyptian authorities have now opened an investigation into the “anomalous” incident
It is now also likely that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office will open an investigation and, according to Corriere Della Sera, that Fappani could also be questioned by the Carabinieri.
Di Gioia was originally from Rome, but lived in France where he had worked for the EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS) for twelve years.
He arrived in Marsa Alam on December 11 to celebrate his birthday – December 21 – with his wife and several family members and friends.
According to local reports, before the attack he planned to stay in Egypt until the New Year.
The Red Sea is a major tourist destination whose marine life makes it popular with divers and Marsa Alam is an Egyptian coastal city known for its coral reefs and beaches.
Deadly shark attacks occur almost every year in Egypt’s Red Sea, where marine experts warn that unregulated construction, overfishing and irresponsible tourism practices are contributing to changing the ecosystem and shark behavior.
There have been four fatal shark attacks in the Red Sea in the last 10 years, according to data collected by the Shark Research Institute, cited by the BBC.
The last similar incident occurred in June 2023, when a tiger shark killed a 23-year-old Russian citizen in Hurghada, another coastal city on the Red Sea north of Marsa Alam.
Vladimir Popov, 23, was surrounded by the tiger shark before being dragged underwater, shouting: “Daddy, save me!”
Tourists emerged from the water as horrified onlookers shouted for Vladimir to swim away from the shark before it was mauled to death.
The tiger shark was then captured and dragged ashore on a boat before being beaten to death on the beach “in revenge”.
Four people also died when a boat capsized in a separate incident in November. The ship ran into trouble near Marsa Alam while carrying tourists on a diving trip.