I tried to save the EU diplomat from the jaws of a shark, but he bit me and wouldn’t let go: Hero snorkeler describes hand-to-hand combat with a predator as it beat Italian official to death in front of his eyes at a Egyptian seaside resort
A heroic snorkeler has told how he battled a giant tiger shark before it struck his EU diplomat friend dead in front of his eyes while the pair were on holiday in Egypt.
Gianluca Di Gioia, 48, from Rome, was snorkeling on a beach located opposite the glamorous Red Sea Sataya Resort on the Marsa Alam coast before he was struck.
With him was his friend Peppino Fappani, the only survivor of the brutal attack who managed to escape after fighting off the beast.
Speak with Corriere Della SerraFappani’s daughter, Cristina, recounted a phone conversation she had with her father after the ordeal, which left him hospitalized with deep bite wounds on his legs and arms.
‘I heard Gianluca ‘Help! Help!’, I thought he was struck by an illness and was having trouble getting back to shore, so I started swimming towards him,” Fappani recalled, describing the hand-to-hand combat to his daughter continued to describe.
The 69-year-old said: “Cristina, I didn’t realize there was a shark that had attacked Gianluca, also because I didn’t see the shark, at least until I felt it bite my legs.
“The shark bit me and wouldn’t let me go, even though I fought to the point of exhaustion to get it off me.”
After the tough and intense fight with the predator, Fappani explained that he managed to avoid a “series of wounds to his legs and an arm”, bites that required “numerous stitches and a prophylaxis that will probably last until after the New Year.”
Di Gioia was in the sea with his friend Giuseppe Fappani, 69, pictured left. His wife is on the right of the photo
EU official Gianluca Di Gioia has been the victim of a shark attack in Marsa Alam on the Red Sea
The tragic incident took place on a beach in front of the Sataya Resort – one of the most glamorous on the Red Sea coast of Marsa Alam.
But despite his heroic efforts, the tiger shark had set its sights on Di Gioia and bludgeoned him to death in front of his distraught friend and their wives, who watched helplessly from a nearby pier.
Fappani’s wife yesterday recalled the brutal attack to the newspaper after witnessing the bloody horrors that unfolded.
She said she saw her husband swimming towards Di Gioia in a desperate attempt to scare the shark away before the beast sank its teeth into his arms and legs.
Then, in a stunning moment, Fappani reportedly managed to briefly push the beast away before it returned in a rage.
From the shore, as soon as she saw the couple in danger, Di Gioia’s wife, Laurence, who was also watching from the pier, “screamed for help and a dinghy left the beach.”
According to Cristina, her father “probably owes his life to some Egyptians who approached in a rubber boat and managed to push the shark away.”
The team then hoisted his injured body aboard and rushed him back to the beach.
‘Now my parents are just waiting to return to Italy. It was a horrible experience,” she added.
The victim, Di Gioia, who works for the European External Action Service, the diplomatic service of the European Union, had traveled to Egypt with his family and friends to celebrate his recent birthday and New Year.
But the tragic incident occurred when he and Fappani swam just 50 meters from the beach in an area where the luxury resort’s jetty gives tourists access beyond the coral reef.
The pair were then rushed to a hospital in Port Ghalib, where Di Gioia tragically died and where Fappani is expected to be discharged from today.
Fappani “moved in shallow waters”, his wife repeated yesterday to the mayor of Soncino Giuseppe Gallina, who now, referring to his “rather reserved” citizen, speaks of a “heroic gesture”.
Di Gioia was reportedly attacked by a tiger shark while snorkeling
Di Gioia had been swimming just 50 meters from the beach in an area where tourists can access beyond the coral reef via the resort’s jetty
The Italian tourist’s injuries to his arms and legs were so serious that it was not known whether he would survive the attack
‘Our city is a small city with 7,500 inhabitants. We are all proud of him, we are waiting for him with open arms,” he said.
The victim’s wife and son, who were also at the resort, were placed in the custody of tour operator Alpitour and the Italian Embassy to receive the necessary support after the attack.
Egyptian authorities have opened an investigation into the “abnormal” incident, while the Ministry of Environment and the Red Sea Governorate have launched a series of investigations to reconstruct what happened.
The attack took place – according to the Quasir Public Prosecutor’s Office – ‘in deep waters outside the bathing area’, that is, beyond the coral reef, which should prevent or at least make it more difficult for sharks to access the area near the beach.
“Such incidents usually take place in spring or summer,” said one of the local authorities monitoring the case, highlighting the rarity of a shark attack this season.
Following the shocking incident, authorities closed the pier and stretch of sea where the EU diplomat was killed.
It is now also likely that Rome’s Public Prosecutor’s Office will also open an investigation, and according to Corriere Della Sera, Fappani could also be interrogated by the Carabinieri.
Originally from Rome, Di Gioia had lived in France for 12 years, working for the EU’s European External Action Service (EEAS).
He had arrived in Marsa Alam on December 11 to celebrate his birthday – December 21 – with his wife and several relatives and friends.
According to local reports, he had planned to stay in Egypt until the New Year before the attack.