NOUMEA, March 6, 2009 (AFP) - A young French man died Friday after he was attacked by sharks while out surfing in the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia, police said.

The 19-year-old student's arm was ripped off and his leg wounded when he was bitten "apparently by several sharks" while trying to get back onto a boat with his friend, local police said.

The man's friend managed to get him to shore, but he was dead by the time emergency workers reached him.

The incident took place in an area popular with surfers and was the first fatal shark attack in the French territory since September 2007, when a young nurse was killed.

The victim was from northwest France but was studying in the New Caledonia capital, Noumea.