Aussie teen makes heroic four-hour swim to save family stranded off coast

Austin Appelbee swam through rough, shark-infested waters for four hours to save his family, as ITV News’ Stacey Foster reports

An Australian teenager has been hailed as a hero after swimming four kilometres through choppy waters to save his mother and two siblings who had been swept out to sea.

Austin Appelbee, his mother and two siblings had been kayaking at Geographe Bay in the south of Western Australia before strong winds whipped them further out to sea.

The 13-year-old began paddling back to shore to raise the alarm, but his kayak began taking in water, forcing him to swim for the next four hours to cover the remaining four kilometres.

Speaking to ITV News’ Australia partner Channel 7, Austin said: “I just said, not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going.”

His mother said it was the “hardest decision” she’s ever had to make, and worried she had made the wrong decision to send her son to get help.

Joanne added: “As the sun went down, I thought something has gone terribly wrong here, and my fear was that Austin didn’t make it.

“Everything goes through your head as a mum, did I make the wrong decision by sending him, because he was the strongest and could do it.

“I wouldn’t have gone because I couldn’t leave the kids at sea, and I had to send someone.

“There were no boats and no one we could get a hold of – and as it got darker, I thought there was no one coming to save us.

“We were cold, we were shaking.

“I’m speechless at his efforts, but I knew he had it in him.”

Austin and his family had been kayaking and paddleboarding off the coast of Quindalup.Credit: Channel7

After four hours of battling his way to shore, Austin managed to raise the alarm.

The 13-year-old said: “I was fighting rough seas, and I thought I had seen something in the water and was really scared. But I just kept thinking I was going to make it through. I was also thinking about all my friends at school and my friends at Christian Youth.”

Initially, the teen tried to make it back with his kayak in tow, but found himself being dragged further out to sea.

Swimming back with just his lifejacket, he found himself fighting against the buoyancy aid, so he got rid of that as well.

“I was thinking about things that have happened in my life. At one point, I was thinking about Thomas the Tank Engine, I was trying to think about the happiest things. Not the bad things that would distract me and bring me out further.

“And at this point, the waves were massive, and I had no lifejacket. I just keep swimming, I did breaststroke, I did freestyle, I did survival backstroke.

“I just keep swimming, and I finally made it to shore. I made it to the bottom of the beach and just collapsed.”

Austin’s family were found some 14km off shore by a rescue helicopter.Credit: Australian Maritime Safety Authority

After making it to the beach, Austin also had to run to make it to a phone. Calling emergency services, he managed to get help for his family, who were still out at sea.

His call sparked a huge emergency response – and after a nearly two-and-a-half-hour search, they tracked down the boy’s 47-year-old mother, 12-year-old brother and eight-year-old sister – who were clinging to a paddleboard about 14 kilometres offshore.

“When I didn’t know where they were, I thought they were dead. I had a lot of guilt in my heart; I thought I hadn’t been fast enough,” he added.

ABC News reported that Naturaliste Marine Rescue Commander Paul Bresland called the boy’s actions “superhuman”.

He said: “The brave fella thought he’s not going to make it with a life jacket on, so he ditched it, and he swam the next two hours without a life jacket.”