Shark kills 10-year-old boy

This was the first fatal shark attack reported this year

A 10-year-old boy has died after being attacked by a shark off the coast of the US state of Virginia.

David Peltier was swimming in the shallow waters of Sandbridge Beach, south of Virginia Beach, with his father and two brothers, when a shark bit his leg.

He died at 0345 (0845 BST) on Sunday, after doctors at a Virginia Beach children's hospital fought for his life for about nine hours.

"As a result of the attack, the main artery in his left thigh was severed, resulting in significant blood loss," George Stinnett, the spokesman for Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter, said.

Rescue attempts

The boy's father, who was surfing nearby, tried to pry open the jaws of the 2.4-metre (eight foot) shark, and finally succeeded after hitting it over the head.

He carried the boy to shore, where lifeguards and bystanders gave him emergency care.

Witnesses said David's brothers, who had also been surfing nearby, were crying hysterically.

The witnesses said David sustained bites along his leg and inside his left thigh.

"I speak for the entire city of Virginia Beach when I say how terribly saddened I am by this horrible accident," Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said after the attack.

First fatality

The attack was the first in the area in 30 years, according to Ed Brazle, the division chief for the city's Emergency Medical Services. But it was one in a spate of recent attacks.

In a similar shark attack on the Florida coast in July, eight-year-old Jessie Arbogast lost an arm and most of his blood. He survived, but remains in a light coma due to brain damage.

The International Shark Attack File of the University of Florida has reported 40 known shark attacks worldwide this year, none of which were fatal until now.

Of the 40 known attacks, 37 were in the United States and 28 were in Florida waters.