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A 13-year-old boy swam miles for help when his family was washed ashore off the coast of Australia on January 30.
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This week, police released the heroic emergency phone call that the teenager made after reaching shore
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“I don’t know what their situation is right now,” the child told the dispatcher
A 13-year-old boy swam nearly three miles to save family members adrift at sea, authorities in Australia have issued calls for emergency dispatch.
“We were washed out to sea, and we’re lost out there,” Austin Appelby said in an emergency triple-zero phone call to himself and his family on Jan. 30 after being pulled off the coast of Quindolup in Geograph Bay, according to recordings and statements shared by the Western Australia Police Force.
“I don’t know what their situation is right now,” he later told the dispatcher, after detailing his location and what happened. “I’m really scared.”
That Friday evening, Appelby, his mother, Joanne, and his two siblings, 12, and Grace, 8, were kayaking and paddleboarding off the coast of Western Australia when they were swept too far out to sea, the Western Australia Police Force said in a statement.
when the 13-year-old boy decided to return to shore despite the “dim light and deteriorating conditions,” according to police.
The teenager was able to paddle a short distance before his kayak went into the water, authorities said. Left with no other option, the boy swam nearly two and a half miles to shore.
“I didn’t think I was a hero – I did what I did,” Austin told the BBC about the risks he took to save his family.
Joanne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that asking her eldest child for help was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make”.
Once ashore, the teenager ran more than a mile along the beach to get to the cellphone, according to police.
“We got lost around, I don’t know what time it was, but it was a long time ago, we couldn’t get back to shore and mom told me to go back to get help … we’re in big trouble,” he told the dispatcher, according to the recording. “I haven’t seen them. I think they are kilometers out to sea, I think we need a helicopter to find them.”
Meanwhile, Austin asks for an ambulance because he fears he has hypothermia and may pass out due to dizziness.
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By 8:30 p.m. local time, 10 hours after the Appelbys first entered the sea, Joanne, Grace and Beau were found after a multi-agency search, officials said. All three were clinging to paddleboards.
The family was treated at a local hospital and later released without serious injuries, officials said.
While issuing an emergency call is not standard procedure, the Western Australian Police Force received permission from Austin’s mother to share the recording to educate others about how to respond to an emergency.
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In its statement, the Western Australian Police Force praised the teenager’s “calm, clear communication”, which helped save the lives of his mother and two younger siblings.
“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary,” Acting Police Forward Commander Sergeant Andrew McDonnell, who co-ordinated the rescue effort, said in a statement. “His bravery and courage under those circumstances were remarkable, and his action decisive in bringing about a successful result.”
The Western Australian Police Force added that they hoped they could “join forces” with Austin in the future.
Read the original article on People
