US EditionAustralian teen swims 4 hours to save family swept out to sea
The boy swam 4 km in rough seas over four hours to alert authorities after his mother and siblings drifted 14 km offshore, prompting a major rescue operation.
- On January 30, 13-year-old Austin Appelbee swam for four hours covering 4km to raise the alarm after his family was swept out to sea at Geographe Bay, near Quindalup in Western Australia.
- On Friday, the family had been paddleboarding and kayaking when strong winds and rough seas pushed their inflatables off course, flipping boards and filling the kayak, so Joanne Appelbee sent her oldest child for help because she could not leave the three children alone.
- A search helicopter found Joanne, Beau and Grace clinging to a paddleboard at 8:30 pm, about 14km offshore; `He swam, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on` — Mr Bresland.
- Police Inspector James Bradley said the actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough, and all four family members were assessed and discharged.
- Officials cautioned that the episode highlights how quickly sea conditions shift, with the agency warning, `Please be mindful of the strong offshore winds that can occur this time of year`, while bull shark attacks have closed around 40 New South Wales beaches.
205 Articles
205 Articles
It was a risky departure between mother and child. Austin was born 4 hours "in large waves" and ran 2km to save the family, dragged the sea inside. "I don't feel a hero — I just did what I did".
13-year-old Austin Appelbee swam for hours to save his family. His mother and siblings, who had drifted out to sea, feared the worst. “If he hasn’t made it, what have I done,” his mother Joanne told the BBC.
‘Keep swimming, just keep swimming’: Aus teen hero tells of his ordeal swimming four kilometres to rescue family
A mother and her two children have been rescued off the coast of a holiday hotspot in Western Australia’s South West after her eldest child, who was swept out to sea with them, swam four kilometres back to shore in fading light to get help.
A 13-year-old boy swam for four hours on the rough sea off the coast of Western Australia to ask for help and thus save his family, who drifted away after being dragged by the waves.The action allowed the rescue alive of his mother and two younger brothers.The minor, identified by local means as Austin Appelbee, traveled about four kilometers in the ocean to reach the shore and alert emergency services.The incident occurred on Friday afternoon i…
New York Post
Fox NewsAustralian teen swims 2.5 miles for hours to save family swept out to sea
A 13-year-old boy swam for hours through rough ocean waters to save his family after they were swept out to sea off Australia’s coast, a heroic effort police say saved his mother and two siblings.
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