Updated

A surfer has been killed by a shark off a notorious stretch of the west Australian coast.

Western Australia state police spokesman Samuel Dinnison says while no one had seen the attack Saturday morning off a beach near Gracetown, the surfer's injuries were consistent with a shark attack.

The sleepy community of Gracetown has now been the site of three fatal shark attacks on surfers in the past decade.

The victim has yet to be identified. Dinnison says he appears to be in his 20s.

The state Fisheries Department has closed beaches in the area, which are in the state's premier surfing region south of the capital Perth.

No details of the type of shark responsible have been released.