A SNORKELLER has been airlifted to hospital after he was attacked by a shark on the Great Barrier Reef.

The man, in his 50s, was swimming in the waters off the coast of Queensland, Australia, around 8am when he was horrifically attacked by the beast.

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The man suffered bite injuries to his bodyCredit: 7NEWS
 

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The man was airlifted to hospital after the attackCredit: 7NEWS
 

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Lady Elliot Island is popular for snorkellingCredit: Tourism and Events Queensland
He was part of a group of three friends snorkelling on the western side of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort.

The trio were able to swim back to shore and alert staff to the bite.

They were not guests of the resort.

A Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokeswoman said the man sustained a deep laceration to his arm and superficial lacerations to his abdomen and hand following the attack.

He was flown to Bundaberg Base Hospital in a stable condition.

Lady Elliot Island has closed the western snorkelling zones until further notice.

It is not known what type of shark was involved.

A recent spate of shark attacks have been plaguing the Commonwealth isle this year.

A 12-year-old boy was mauled to death by a shark in Sydney Harbour while swimming with friends near Shark Beach at Nielsen Park on January 18.

48 hours earlier, musician Andre de Ruyter, 27, was hospitalised after being bitten on the right leg while surfing at Manly.

Earlier that day, an 11-year-old boy escaped injury after being knocked off his surfboard by a shark at a northern Sydney beach.

And Paul Zvirzdinas, 39, was bitten at a beach on the state’s mid-north coast, about five hours north of Sydney.

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Lady Elliot Island, is the southern most island in the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of AustraliaCredit: Alamy

Great White Shark with huge mouth open, Guadalupe, Mexico
It’s not known what type of shark attacked the snorkellerCredit: Getty
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Illustration of a map showing four shark attack locations in New South Wales.

Australia Shark Attacks
Beaches have been periodically closed along the coast of Australia after a spate of shark attacksCredit: AP