need to know
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The family of a 13-year-old boy washed into the sea off the coast of Australia on January 30 and swam several miles for help.
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This week, police released the heroic emergency call the teenager made after reaching the shore
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“I don’t know what’s going on with them right now,” the child told the dispatcher
Australian officials have issued an emergency dispatch call to a 13-year-old boy who swam nearly 3 miles back to shore to save his family who had been swept out to sea.
“We were swept out to sea and disoriented,” Austin Appelbee said during an emergency triple-0 call after he and his family were pulled off the coast of Quindalup in Geographe Bay on January 30, according to recordings and statements shared by Western Australia police.
“I don’t know what their condition is right now,” he told the dispatcher after detailing his location and what happened. “I’m really scared.”
Appelby, his mother Joanne and his two siblings, Beau, 12, and Grace, eight, were kayaking and paddleboarding off the coast of Western Australia on Friday night when they were swept out to sea, the WA Police Force said in a statement.
According to police, the 13-year-old boy decided to return to shore despite “fading light and deteriorating conditions.”
Officials said the teen was able to paddle a short distance before the kayak took on water. With no other options available, the boy swam approximately two and a half miles to shore.
“I don’t think I’m a hero – I just did what I did,” Austin told the BBC of the risks he took to save his family.
Joanne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that asking her eldest child to seek help was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made”.
Once ashore, the teen ran more than a mile along the beach to get his phone, according to police.
“We were lost and I don’t know what time it was but it was a long time ago and we couldn’t get back to shore and my mom told me to go back and get help… we were in big trouble,” he told the dispatcher, the recording shows. “I haven’t seen them since. I think they’re a few kilometers out in the ocean and I think we need a helicopter to find them.”
Meanwhile, Austin asked for an ambulance because he was worried he was suffering from hypothermia and might pass out from dizziness.
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Officials said Joanne, Grace and Beau were found after a multi-agency search at 8:30 pm local time, 10 hours after the Appelbys first entered the sea. The three of them clung to the paddle boards.
The family was treated at a local hospital and later released with no serious injuries, according to authorities.
While it is not standard procedure to release an emergency call, WA Police received permission from the Austin mother to share the recording to educate others on how to respond in an emergency.
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In a statement, Western Australia police praised the teenager’s “calm, clear communication” which helped save the lives of his mother and two younger siblings.
“What Austin did was extraordinary,” Acting Sergeant Andrew McDonald, the police forward commander who coordinated the rescue effort, said in a statement. “His bravery and courage in the circumstances were extraordinary and his actions were crucial to achieving a successful outcome.”
WA Police added they hoped to “join forces” with Austin in the future.
Read the original article on People
