We Require a Chopper to Go Find Them’: Adolescent’s Emergency Call to Aid Family Stranded Off Australian Coast Revealed

“We became disoriented out there,” a 13-year-old boy explains to the 000 call handler, following a swim 4km in treacherous, the sea and sprinting 2km to secure help for his family.

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

“[It] was quite some time back … I think they’re a long way from land. I think we must get a chopper to locate them,” he states.

Authorities have disclosed the emergency phone call made previously after the boy departed from his relatives drifting at sea off the Western Australian coast to find rescuers.

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

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

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

The Harrowing Ordeal

The mother and children had been pulled 2.5 miles out to sea in stormy conditions while enjoying water sports.

His mother asked him to use his craft and find help, so the boy began, ditching first his failing kayak then his bulky flotation device to swim the distance.

After getting to the beach – after an extensive period – he ran for 1.25 miles to retrieve a phone.

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

“I’m positioned on the beach right now, and I have to also explain – 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 collapse.”

A Getaway in Peril

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

The parent later recalled that they were playing around when the kids “went out a bit too far”. The conditions worsened, they were separated from their equipment, and started drifting.

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

The parent also spoke of 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 could do it,” she said.

The Rescue Effort

The teenager recalled being “extremely winded”.

“I just keep swimming, I do the breaststroke, I do front crawl, I do elementary backstroke,” he explained.

The call for help was made at approximately 6pm.

At about 8.30pm, many hours after they first departed, the family were located and saved. They had been carried about 9 miles out to sea.

The audio was made public with the parents' permission.

A forward commander who oversaw the search and rescue effort said the family was in an “desperately dangerous position”.

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

“What the boy did was nothing short of extraordinary. His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were instrumental in bringing about a rescue.”

The sergeant also highlighted how the teenager clearly relayed vital details.

When asked to describe the boards for the search crew, the boy replied: “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 hooked. Since we managed to catch a fish.”