Two women have been killed in shark attacks in Egypt’s Red Sea, south of the city of Hurghada, the Egyptian environment ministry has said.

“Two women were attacked by a shark while swimming in the Sahel Hachich region, south of Hurghada”, the ministry said on its Facebook page, saying a committee had been formed to examine the circumstances of the attacks and any scientific reasons behind them.

It also said the governor of the Red Sea Governorate, Maj Gen Amr Hanafi, has issued an order to suspend all activity in the area surrounding the attacks with several beaches being closed.

“Any activity is prohibited for three days on the beaches in the south of Hurghada, in the south-east of Egypt”, Amr Hanafi declared..

A source at the Red Sea Health Affairs Directorate, said the first victim was transferred to a local private hospital, adding that there were attempts to resuscitate her, but she died from her injuries

Russian tourists have alleged that some English-speaking guests had warned Egyptian guards at Sahl Hasheesh, south of tourist hub Hurghada, about sharks on Friday, 15 minutes before 68-year-old Austrian Elisabeth Sauer was attacked in front of horrified onlookers – but were mocked and told “there are no sharks (here) and never have been.”

A second woman, identified only as a Romanian national in her 40s  is thought to have been killed in a similar attack just 650ft away from where Sauer died, with her badly disfigured remains found on a nearby reef the same day. News of her death first emerged on Sunday.

But another Russian woman, named only as Zhanna has told reporters that the Romanian woman went missing from the five-star Premiere Le Reve hotel where she was staying two days before her body was found, suggesting she may have actually been the first victim.

Ms Sauer lost an arm and a leg in an attack that was caught on film, as onlookers tried to distract the shark and get her to safety. She reached the shore with the help of a flipper, but died a short time later. Details about when the Romanian woman was killed have not been made public, with Egyptian officials now facing claims of a cover-up.

A security source also added that the Austrian woman had been living in Egypt over the past five years with her Egyptian husband