Shark kills teenage boy in South Australia

SYDNEY - A shark attacked and killed a 15-year-old boy at a remote surfing spot in South Australia, police said Friday.

The marine predator struck Thursday afternoon near Ethel Beach on the Yorke Peninsula, state police said in a statement.

"Sadly, the body of a teenage boy was recovered from the water," they said.

Police said they were preparing a report for the coroner but gave no details of the attack on the boy, who was from a southern Adelaide suburb.

Adelaide's The Advertiser newspaper quoted an unidentified Ethel Beach local as saying another surfer had paddled out to help after the boy was bitten on the leg.

"The shark was circling them as the guy pulled the boy out of the water. There was a lot of blood," the resident said.

There were no details on the shark involved, but great white sharks are known to prowl South Australia's coastline.

In late October, witnesses saw a shark grab a 55-year-old surfer in its jaws at the state's Granites Beach. His body was not recovered. A large great white was seen nearby.

A 46-year-old teacher was attacked by a shark in May as he surfed at South Australia's Walkers Rock Beach. His body was never found but search teams discovered a piece of wetsuit. - AFP