‘We Need a Aircraft to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Aid Relatives Stranded Off Down Under Coast Disclosed

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 4km in treacherous, open ocean and running 1.25 miles to get assistance for his household.

The call taker questions how long has gone by since he started out.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he states.

Authorities have released the recorded plea made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his loved ones drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to fetch help.

His demeanour remains clear and calm, even as he details his concern for his family members.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he tells the operator.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

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

His mum asked him to take his kayak and locate rescue, so the teenager commenced, abandoning first his failing kayak then his unwieldy PFD to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – following a four-hour swim – he ran for 1.25 miles to access a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m utterly fatigued. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The family was on vacation in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth. They set off from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The mother later recalled that they were enjoying themselves when the children “ventured out too far”. The conditions worsened, they dropped their paddles, and started floating away.

“It sort of all went wrong very, very quickly,” she said.

The parent also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to send her son to swim to land.

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

The Rescue Effort

The teenager explained being “extremely winded”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he said.

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 9 miles out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

A senior officer who managed the operation said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was of the essence given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

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

The officer also highlighted how the teenager calmly conveyed critical information.

When asked to detail the boards for the authorities, the boy replied: “They were green and white.”

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