SYDNEY (AFP) –
An Australian man was in hospital Sunday after surviving a shark attack while diving off the country's northeast coast, officials said.

The 19-year-old was diving at Lamont Reef, off central Queensland's Herron Island, when he was bitten on the arm, the Royal Flying Doctor Service said after taking him to the Royal Brisbane Hospital.

"He was in a stable condition when our doctor left him at the hospital there," a spokesman for the Royal Flying Doctor Service told AFP.

"Any kind of shark bite is serious. But I believe his condition is stable, it's not life-threatening."

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare.

In December 2008, a snorkeller died after being attacked by a large shark off the Western Australian coast.