‘We Need a Helicopter to Go Find Them’: Teenager’s Distress Call to Save Loved Ones Stranded Off Down Under Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” the teenager tells the emergency operator, having swum four kilometres in treacherous, open water and sprinting 2km to get assistance for his family.

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

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a rescue aircraft to search for them,” he says.

Emergency services have released the distress call made in recent weeks after the teen departed from his family floating at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

His tone remains steady and composed, even as he details his fear for his family.

“I don’t know what their state is right now, and I’m really scared,” he confides in the person on the line.

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The family group had been pulled four kilometres out to sea in rough conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mum urged him to use his craft and find help, so the boy set off, discarding first his sinking craft then his bulky flotation device to make the journey by swimming.

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

“Hello, my name is Austin … I have a brother and sister, Beau and Grace. Beau is 12 and Grace is eight,” he explains the call handler.

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

A Vacation Gone Wrong

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

The mother later described that they were having fun when the young ones “drifted further than intended”. The conditions worsened, they lost their oars, and started drifting.

“It pretty much all became dangerous very, very quickly,” she said.

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

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

The Successful Mission

The teenager explained being “completely out of breath”.

“I just pressed on, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do survival backstroke,” he said.

The emergency call was made at about 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first began, the group were spotted and rescued. They had drifted about 14km out to sea.

The recording was released with the family’s permission.

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

“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 truly remarkable. His bravery and courage in those conditions were astonishing, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The commander also praised how the teenager clearly relayed key facts.

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

“And I’m not sure if it’s there, but they had this fishing line, and there was a catch on the line. As we caught one.”