We Require a Aircraft to Search For Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Rescue Loved Ones Adrift Off Aussie Coast Unveiled

“We ended up adrift out there,” a 13-year-old boy informs the triple-zero dispatcher, having swum four kilometres in rough, the sea and running 1.25 miles to summon rescue for his kin.

The call taker inquires how much time has gone by since he began.

“[It] was ages past … I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we require a rescue aircraft to go find them,” he says.

Emergency services have made public the recorded plea made last month after the youth departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

His voice remains clear and calm, even as he expresses his fear for his kin.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the dispatcher.

“Mum said to seek assistance … We were in grave peril.”

The Dangerous Incident

The mother and children had been carried four kilometres out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum urged him to set out and locate rescue, so the youth set off, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – four hours later – he raced for two kilometres to access a cell phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also add – 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 faint.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on holiday in Quindalup, two hundred kilometres south of Perth. They departed from Geographe Bay around 10am on a Friday in late January.

The parent later described that they were enjoying themselves when the children “went out a bit too far”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It sort of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she remarked.

The mother also referenced having to make “one of the hardest decisions” to instruct her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Rescue Effort

The boy recalled being “completely out of breath”.

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

The distress call was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, a full ten hours after they first set out, the group were found and brought to safety. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The emergency call was released with the mother’s permission.

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

“They were in genuine danger, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“What the teenager did was incredibly brave. His heroic actions in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were crucial in bringing about a rescue.”

The officer also praised how the teenager effectively communicated vital details.

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

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