A 13-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero after swimming 4km (2.5 miles) to shore to raise the alarm when his family was swept out to sea off Australia's south-west coast. Austin Appelbee swam for four hours in rough seas to get help for his mother, Joanne, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, after they got into difficulties at Geographe Bay on Friday.
The family had been using inflatable paddle boards and a kayak when strong winds pushed them offshore. Austin initially tried to paddle back in his kayak, but it began taking on water. He then abandoned the vessel, removed his life jacket, and swam the remaining distance to shore, eventually collapsing on the beach and alerting authorities at 6pm.
Speaking about his ordeal, Austin said: 'The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. I just kept thinking "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".' His mother told reporters she sent him for help because she could not leave the other children, describing it as 'one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make'. She kept the children positive by singing and joking until the sun began to set.
Austin's actions triggered a large search-and-rescue operation involving Western Australia Water Police, volunteer marine rescue crews, and a rescue helicopter. The Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group praised his 'superhuman' effort, and commander Paul Bresland said the boy provided rescuers with a detailed description of the kayak and paddle boards, which was crucial to the search. Within an hour, the kayak was located.
At about 8.30pm, the rescue helicopter found the family clinging to a paddle board roughly 14km offshore. They were rescued after spending up to 10 hours in the water and were brought safely back to shore. The trio were shivering, and Beau had lost sensation in his legs due to the cold. Police inspector James Bradley said: 'The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough – his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings.'
