
Incredible images purporting to show the moment a Russian woman gave birth in the Red Sea in Egypt actually show the baby being bathed in the water several days after birth, the father has revealed.

The baby girl's Russian mother and Serbian father had decided to bathe her in the ocean with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached because of the supposed health benefits.

Onlookers in the resort town of Dahab captured the moment the father carried his days-old daughter from the water accompanied by a Russian doctor who was helping with her care.

Images purporting to show the moment a baby was born in the Red Sea in Dahab, Egypt, actually show the moment the baby was bathed days after being born, the father has revealed

Stunned onlookers captured the baby being carried from the waves by the father and a Russian doctor helping with her care, before being followed by the mother (pictured)

Once back on shore the new mother was reunited with her newborn child and another of the couple's children in this touching family moment captured from a nearby balcony

The older man is a well-known Russian doctor who specialises in water births. The mother had opted to deliver the baby in a pool, but this happened several days before these images were taken

The mother follows close behind before the family are reunited on the beach in a touching scene.

The doctor is a well-known Russian specialist in water births. The mother had opted to have her delivery in a birthing pool, but this happened inside a house before the images were taken.

The incident happened in October 2014 but the pictures were first uploaded to social media this week, where they quickly went viral.

Prominent Egyptian sportswoman Hadia Hosny El Said posted them to her Facebook page claiming they showed the woman giving birth in the ocean. The post has since been deleted.

Before the post was deleted it had been shared more than 2,000 times and attracted thousands of comments.

Commenters on social media praised the 'beauty' of the moment.

The pictures were uploaded to Facebook by Egyptian sportswoman Hadia Hosny El Said who claimed to have taken them from her uncle's balcony and said the woman gave birth in the ocean. The post has since been deleted

Social media users praised the beauty of the moment as the images were shared thousands of times online

The incident took place in October 2014 but the images first appeared on social media this week before going viral