‘We Need a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Save Family Lost Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the emergency operator, having swum 4km in rough, the sea and sprinting 1.25 miles to secure help for his kin.

The operator inquires how much time has passed since he began.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we require a chopper to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have released the emergency phone call made previously after the teen departed from his relatives floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he details his worry for his family members.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he tells the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been carried 4km out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother instructed him to set out and find help, so the boy commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After reaching land – following a four-hour swim – he ran for two kilometres to get to a phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an medical help because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

The holidaymakers was on a break in Quindalup, 125 miles south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

“It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The parent also spoke of having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the strongest and he had the ability to succeed,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “extremely winded”.

“I just keep swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he said.

The emergency call was made at approximately 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the stranded individuals were located and saved. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The audio was made public with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in genuine danger, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the boy did was incredibly brave. His fortitude and resolve in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The commander also highlighted how the teenager effectively communicated vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the authorities, the teenager said: “They were a green and white colour.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this fishing line, and there was a fish on there. Since we managed to catch a fish.”