‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Emergency Call to Save Loved Ones Adrift Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager explains to the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in choppy, open ocean and sprinting 1.25 miles to get assistance for his kin.

The dispatcher asks how much time has gone by since he started out.

“[It] was a very long time ago … I think they’re far offshore. I think we must get a chopper to search for them,” he reports.

Emergency services have made public the distress call made previously after the boy left his relatives adrift at sea off the West Australian coast to seek assistance.

His demeanour remains steady and composed, even as he expresses his worry for his family.

“I have no idea about what their status is right now, and I’m extremely frightened,” he informs the person on the line.

“Mum said to find rescue … We were in serious danger.”

The Perilous Situation

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

His mum urged him to take his kayak and get assistance, so the teenager commenced, abandoning first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to cover the remaining stretch.

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

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

“I’m sitting on the beach right now, and I have to also mention – I think I need an paramedic because I think I have hypothermia … I’m really, I’m completely exhausted. I have sunstroke, and I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The parent later recalled that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The wind picked up, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

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

The mother also referenced having to make “an incredibly tough choice” to send her son to make the swim for help.

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

The Search Operation

The boy described being “completely out of breath”.

“I just continued swimming, I do breaststroke, I do freestyle, I do a floating stroke,” he said.

The emergency call was made at around 6pm.

At roughly 8.30pm, ten hours after they first set out, the stranded individuals were found and brought to safety. They had been carried about 14km out to sea.

The audio was shared with the mother’s permission.

A forward commander who managed the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “incredibly perilous state”.

“They were in real trouble, and time was extremely pressing given how long they had been in the water and with night approaching.

“What Austin did was incredibly brave. His bravery and courage in those conditions were exceptional, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.”

The officer also praised how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

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

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