CAIRO, June 8 -- The Egyptian government on Thursday halted all water sports and sea activities in the Red Sea resort city of Hurghada after one Russian tourist was killed in a shark attack.

The Egyptian Ministry of Environment ordered the stopping of all swimming, snorkeling and other water sports in the Red Sea between Al-Gouna resort and Soma Bay for two days starting Friday to conduct investigations and surveys.

Earlier in the day, the Consulate General of Russia in Hurghada confirmed the death of a Russian man as "a result of a shark attack."

A video circulated on social media shows a man swimming in the sea was torn into two parts by a huge shark.

An Egyptian team has identified a type of tiger shark as being behind the attack, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said, confirming that the shark was caught and sent to the ministry's labs for examination.

He called on holidaymakers to stick to the instructions and regulations in the region when dealing with natural resources of the Red Sea to save their life.

Shark attacks are relatively rare at the Red Sea resorts in Egypt, but the Egyptian authorities last year had closed off a stretch of the country's Red Sea coastline after two tourists were killed in a shark attack.

Egypt's Red Sea resorts, especially Hurghada, are popular destinations for Russian tourists.

  - Xinhua