We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Urgent Plea to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” the teenager explains to the emergency operator, after swimming 2.5 miles in choppy, open water and running 1.25 miles to get assistance for his family.

The dispatcher questions how much time has passed since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a chopper to go find them,” he reports.

Emergency services have disclosed the emergency phone call made previously after the youth departed from his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to seek assistance.

His tone remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his fear for his family.

“I am unsure of what their condition is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the operator.

“Mum said go get help … We were in massive trouble.”

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been swept 4km out to sea in rough conditions while using kayaks and paddleboards.

His parent urged him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the boy commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he sprinted for two kilometres to retrieve a phone.

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

“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 exposure … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay following 10am on a Friday in late January.

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

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

The mother also spoke of having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to swim ashore.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she commented.

The Successful Mission

The youth explained being “very puffed out”.

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

The call for help was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first began, the group were spotted and rescued. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The emergency call was released with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who coordinated the rescue mission said the family was in an “extremely dire situation”.

“They were in serious jeopardy, and time was extremely pressing given how much time they had been in the water and with light running out.

“What the boy did was truly remarkable. His heroic actions in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also highlighted how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the equipment for the search crew, the boy replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this rod, and there was a catch on the line. Because we hooked one.”