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A man has been killed in a shark attack on the New South Wales north coast, police say, a day after another man was injured by a shark in the same area, the BBC reported.

Police said the man, believed to be a Japanese national, died at Shelly Beach near Ballina, some 730km (452 miles) north of Sydney.

Surfers helped him to shore and performed first aid, but the man died.

There have been several shark attacks off Australia's beaches in recent years.

The attack happened around 09:45 (22:45 GMT Sunday) on Monday, police said. Friends of the man rushed him to shore to try to save him, but could not.

"Because both legs were gone, he bled to death very quickly,'' the Associated Press news agency quoted Ballina Mayor David Wright as saying.

A cafe owner, identified only as Karen, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying the shark "just came up between a bunch of surfers."

"They weren't even that far out," she reportedly said.

Beaches in the area have been closed, with this incident coming soon after a 35-year-old man was attacked on his surf board off Seven Mile Beach near Byron Bay, only 30km north of Ballina.

He was reported to have suffered a cut to his back and puncture wounds to his buttocks, but was stable after driving himself to hospital on Monday.