‘We Need a Chopper to Locate Them’: 13-Year-Old’s Emergency Call to Save Relatives Stranded Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy tells the triple-zero dispatcher, following a swim 2.5 miles in treacherous, the sea and jogging 2km to get assistance for his family.

The dispatcher inquires how long has passed since he set off.

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a helicopter to go find them,” he states.

Emergency services have released the emergency phone call made previously after the teen left his relatives adrift at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he voices his concern for his family members.

“I am unsure of what their status is right now, and I’m terrified,” he confides in the dispatcher.

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

The Dangerous Incident

The family group had been swept 4km out to sea in rough conditions while kayaking and paddleboarding.

His mum asked him to set out and get assistance, so the teenager set off, discarding first his waterlogged vessel then his unwieldy PFD to swim the distance.

After reaching land – after an extensive period – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a mobile phone.

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

“I’m located on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have a dangerously low body temperature … I’m really, I’m extremely tired. I have heatstroke, and I feel like I’m about to faint.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The woman later explained that they were having fun when the young ones “ventured out too far”. The wind picked up, they were separated from their equipment, and started being carried out.

“It kind of all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

The mother also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to ask 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 described being “very puffed out”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do a floating stroke,” he recalled.

The call for help was made at about 6pm.

At around 8.30pm, ten hours after they first began, the stranded individuals were spotted and rescued. They had floated about fourteen kilometres out to sea.

The recording was released with the mother’s permission.

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

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

“What the teenager did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a positive result.”

The commander also commended how the boy effectively communicated key facts.

When asked to detail the paddleboards for the rescue team, the teenager replied: “They were coloured green and white.”

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