A 17-year-old girl has died after being attacked by a shark in Western Australia.

Monday’s attack happened at Kelp Beds, near Wylie Bay in Esperance, just before 4pm, police said.

The girl was surfing with her father when she was attacked and was taken to Esperance hospital in a critical condition. The girl’s mother and two sisters reportedly watched in horror from the beach as the teenager was grabbed by the shark.

Her leg was badly mauled and she had lost a lot of blood when pulled from the water, Seven News reported.



The family was reportedly on an Easter holiday.

Wylie Bay beach was closed on Tuesday, and the Department of Fisheries said it would be conducting beach and water patrols from early in the day.

Surfers and swimmers were advised against going into the water for at least two days.

Two people were killed by sharks in Western Australia last year: 29-year-old surfer Ben Gerring was attacked at Falcon, 80km south of Perth, on 31 May, and 60-year-old Doreen Ann Collyer died while diving off Mindarie, 40km north of Perth, on 5 June.



In October 2014, Sean Pollard lost part of both his arms when he was attacked while surfing in Wylie Bay.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report