Ammon News - A man has been airlifted to hospital after he was bitten by a shark while snorkelling at a popular island off the Queensland coast.

A man in his 50s suffered lacerations and puncture wounds to his arm and abdomen during the terrifying ordeal at a shallow reef off Lady Elliot Island at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef on Thursday morning.

He managed to swim to shore and was flown by LifeFlight to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition.

Photos showed the man sitting on a stretcher being assessed by LifeFlight critical care medical team before he was airlifted.

The species of the shark involved is not known.

Daily Mail