The Egyptian Tourism Ministry has paid $50,000 in compensation to a Russian tourist whose hand was bitten off by a shark while swimming in the Red Sea.

Yevgeny Trishkin was attacked by the shark in December 2010 off Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt's most popular seaside resort. Trishkin said he would use the money to buy a prosthetic hand.

"The situation [surrounding the incident] still needs to be clarified, especially the actions of the tour operator" Trishkin said. "Why did they send tourists to Egyptian beaches if they knew about the danger?"

Three Russians and one Ukrainain were also attacked by sharks in the region in December and a German woman was killed.

ST. PETERSBURG, February 15 (RIA Novosti)