Sydney - A 20-year-old scuba diver died Saturday after being attacked by a shark off the coast of Australia’s Queensland state, authorities said.
The man was attacked at around 2pm near Fraser Island. Paramedics who arrived by helicopter provided emergency treatment, but the man, who had been bitten around the legs, could not be saved and died at the scene, said the Queensland Ambulance Service.
The attack happened near Indian Heads, not far from where 23-year-old Queensland wildlife ranger Zachary Robba was fatally mauled by a great white shark in April.
At least four people have died in shark attacks in Australia this year. A 57-year-old diver was killed off Western Australia state in January and a 60-year-old surfer was killed off Kingscliff in New South Wales state in June.
Several board-riders came to the assistance of the 60-year-old man and fought the shark off before pulling him to shore at Salt Beach, near Kingscliff, some 800km north of Sydney.
"He was rendered first aid for serious injuries to his left leg but died at the scene," police said in a statement.
Although shark-related deaths are rare in Australia, it has recorded a number of unprovoked shark encounters with humans.
Australia's beaches with their pumping ocean breaks draw surfers from around the world.