A 13-year-old boy swam four kilometres for four hours to get help after his mother and siblings were swept out to sea off Western Australia.
QUINDALUP: A 13-year-old boy swam for four hours through choppy seas to save his mother and two younger siblings after they were swept out to sea off Western Australia.
The teenager swam four kilometres back to shore to raise the alarm after his family got into trouble while kayaking and paddleboarding near the tourist town of Quindalup.
Marine rescue volunteer Paul Bresland said the boy’s efforts were “superhuman” and saved his family, who were later found clinging to a paddleboard in the open ocean.
“He swam, he reckons, the first two hours with a life jacket on,” Bresland told national broadcaster ABC.
“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.”
Police inspector James Bradley said the boy’s actions “cannot be praised highly enough”.
“His determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings,” he told the ABC.
