A 21-YEAR-OLD man has died after being attacked by a shark in south-western Australia as he was body boarding with friends yesterday afternoon.

Australian authorities from the Departments of Fisheries and of Transport have been searching for the shark and say that as yet it is unclear which species of shark was involved in the attack.

Kyle James Burden was killed at a popular beach in Bunker Bay, about 300 km south of Perth. Police said that his friend and another surfer helped bring him ashore after he was attacked but that he has sustained significant injuries, News.com.au reports. One eyewitness said the young man had died before he was taken out of the water.

The Surf Rider Foundation of Australia says it wants to see greater shark observation activities along the shoreline and better research into shark control programmes, while local surfers are calling for the shark involved to be tracked down and killed.

Rory McAuley from the Australian Department of Fisheries told the Sydney Morning Herald that any shark which “poses an immediate threat to public safety” can be removed. According to 720 ABC Perth, the authorities say they do not intend to kill the shark, but that they will work to draw it away from the area.

According to the department’s “Shark Safety Tips“, there are just three shark species which are considered to pose a serious risk to people in Australia: the white shark/great white, tiger shark and bull shark. The department says that shark attacks are rare, with an average of one fatal attack a year in Australian waters.

Yesterday’s attack is the second time a person has been killed by a shark in Australia this year: a diver was attacked and killed by two sharks at Coffin Bay, in S0uth Australia, in February.

In 2010 and in 2009, 6 people around the world were killed by sharks, according to figures maintained by the International Shark Attack File.