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

She was attacked while surfing with her father at Kelp Beds, near Wylie Bay, in Esperance just before 4pm on Monday, police said.

The teenager, from Mandurah, was treated on the beach by paramedics before being rushed to Esperance Hospital in a critical condition.

The teenager’s father managed to drag her ashore as doctors battled to stabilise the girl, who reportedly lost a leg in the attack, but she died soon after.

Her mother and two siblings witnessed the attack from the beach.

WA Police confirmed the girl, whose name has not yet been released, died from her injuries.

Wylie Bay beach has been closed until further notice.

Local surfers expressed were stunned at news of the attack, saying that fewer sharks had been sighted this year.

“There’s been the odd one, but nothing like there was a few years ago,” Tilo Massenbauer told News Corp. “It’s a little bit early (in the year). They’ve had more run-ins at Margaret River, where they’ve had a lot of salmon.”

Surfers said the beach is most dangerous when juvenile sharks under three metres in length were pursuing prey.

“They are more agitated and bullish. They will charge you a few times,” Mr Massenbauer said. “The big ones swim up to you and have a sniff and trail you, but it never feels as bad as the three-metre ones.”

It is the second shark attack in Esperance in two-and-a-half years. A surfer Sean Pollard lost his left arm and his right hand in a shark attack at the same beach in 2014.

RECENT SHARK ATTACKS IN WA

• June 5, 2016: Doreen Collyer, 60, died while diving a kilometre out from Mindarie Marina between One and Three Mile reefs
• June 4, 2016: Ben Gerring, 29, was killed after having his leg severed by a great white shark at Falcon Beach, in Mandurah.
• December 29, 2014: Jay Muscat, 17, is killed by a great white while spearfishing at Cheynes Beach near Albany, WA.
• December 15, 2014: Daniel Smith, 18, of Mossman, Qld, is killed while fishing at Rudder Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas.
• October 2, 2014: Sean Pollard, 23, loses both hands after a shark attack at Wylie Bay Beach, near Esperance, WA.

– AAP