‘We Need a Aircraft to Locate Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Relatives Stranded Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We got lost out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum 2.5 miles in rough, the sea and jogging 2km to summon rescue for his kin.

The dispatcher inquires how much time has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a chopper to go find them,” he states.

Authorities have disclosed the distress call made in recent weeks after the boy departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to find rescuers.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he details his concern for his kin.

“I am unsure of what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he informs the dispatcher.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in massive trouble.”

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been swept 2.5 miles out to sea in treacherous conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His parent urged him to take his kayak and find help, so the boy began, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After getting to the beach – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for 2km to get to a cell phone.

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he tells the operator.

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have hyperthermia, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They began their trip from Geographe Bay some time after 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later described that they were enjoying themselves when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started drifting.

“It sort of all turned bad very, very quickly,” she noted.

The parent also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask her son to make the swim for help.

“I knew he was the most capable and he had the ability to succeed,” she said.

The Successful Mission

The youth recalled being “completely out of breath”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he explained.

The distress call was made at about 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The audio was released with the mother’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the search and rescue effort said the group was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was absolutely critical given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a positive result.”

The officer also commended how the teenager effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to detail the equipment for the rescue team, the teenager said: “They were a green and white colour.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this rod, and there was a fish hooked. Since we caught one.”