Boy swims four hours to save his family in ‘superhuman’ rescue after they were swept out to sea
A 13-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero for saving his family after they were swept out to sea off Australia’s south-west coast, swimming for four hours to get help.
Austin Appelbee swam 4km (2.5miles) to shore after he got into difficulties with his mother Joanne Appelbee, 47, brother Beau, 12, and sister Grace, 8, police said.
The boy and his family had been using inflatable paddle boards and a kayak at Geographe Bay on Friday when strong winds pushed them offshore.
Police said the teenager initially tried to paddle back to land in his kayak, but it began taking on water. He then abandoned the vessel then took off his life jacket and swam the remaining distance to shore, eventually reaching land and alerting authorities.
Austin said he tried to focus on positive thoughts as he swam for around four hours in rough seas, raising the alarm at 6pm.
“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming’,” Austin said on Tuesday. “And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed.”
Ms Appelbee told reporters on Tuesday she sent her oldest child for help because she could not leave the three children.
“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly’,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
She said she was initially confident he would reach the shore but began to be filled with doubt as the sun set and help did not arrive.
“We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and – we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” she said.
His actions triggered a large search-and-rescue operation involving Western Australia Water Police, volunteer marine rescue crews, and the state’s rescue helicopter.
The Naturaliste Volunteer Marine Rescue Group – an organisation that provides emergency maritime response, including search and rescue – praised the boy’s endurance. “The bravery, strength and courage shown by this family were extraordinary, especially the young fella who swam 4km to raise the alarm,” it said.
The bay lies near the small coastal community of Quindalup, about 250km south of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia.
The group’s commander, Paul Bresland, described the effort as “superhuman”.
