‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Urgent Plea to Save Relatives Lost Off Australian Coast Unveiled

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the triple-zero dispatcher, after swimming four kilometres in treacherous, open ocean and sprinting two kilometres to secure help for his family.

The operator asks how long has elapsed since he started out.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we require a rescue aircraft to locate them,” he reports.

Emergency services have released the emergency phone call made previously after the youth departed from his loved ones floating at sea off the WA coast to find rescuers.

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

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

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in grave peril.”

The Dangerous Incident

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

His mum instructed him to use his craft and find help, so the teenager set off, abandoning first his waterlogged vessel then his cumbersome lifejacket to make the journey by swimming.

After making it to shore – after an extensive period – he sprinted for 1.25 miles to access a mobile phone.

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also add – I think I need an ambulance because I think I have exposure … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.”

A Holiday Turned Crisis

The group was on vacation 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 having fun when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The breeze strengthened, they lost their oars, and started being carried out.

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

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

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

The Rescue Effort

The youth recalled being “extremely winded”.

“I just pressed on, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the group were found and brought to safety. They had floated about 14km out to sea.

The recording was shared with the mother’s permission.

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

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

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary. His heroic actions in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also praised how the boy clearly relayed critical information.

When asked to identify the equipment for the search crew, the youth replied: “They were green and white.”

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