A German tourist died after being attacked by a shark off Spain's Canary Islands, the local coastguard said Tuesday.

The 30-year-old woman was sailing off the Spanish Islands, before being bitten by a shark, Spanish media reported.

The woman lost a leg in the attack, before suffering a heart attack while being on a Spanish rescue helicopter.

She was bound for hospital in Las Palmas when she died, the coastguard spokesman said.

Spanish outlet Atlantico Hoy reported Spain's emergency services had contacted their Moroccan counterparts, which said they did not have suitable rescue equipment in the area.

The woman was sailing in a catamaran some 278 nautical miles (more than 500 kilometers) southwest of the island of Gran Canaria when the shark struck.

According to boat-tracking website vesselfinder.com, the boat, the Dalliance Chichester, left the port of Las Palmas on September 14.

Shark attacks are extremely rare in the area, Atlantico Hoy reported, saying only six such attacks have been recorded in the area since records began in the 16th century.

ftm/jsi (AFP)