SYDNEY: A shark bit and killed a 17-year-old girl swimming off an eastern Australian island on Monday, officials said, in the country`s third reported fatal attack in just over five weeks.

Paramedics rushed to Woorim Beach in Queensland to treat the teenager, who had sustained serious injuries to her upper body, an ambulance service spokesperson said.

Police said she was bitten by a shark while swimming in the afternoon off the popular surf spot on Bribie Island, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the state capital Brisbane. The girl `sustained life-threatening injuries and succumbed to those injuries` about 15 minutes later, a Queensland police spokesperson said. Police said they would prepare a report for the coroner.-AFP