Teen swims four hours to raise alarm after family swept 14km offshore in WA

A 13-year-old boy swam about four kilometres through rough waters over four hours to raise the alarm after strong winds pushed his family’s paddleboards and kayak offshore near Quindalup, Western Australia.

After his kayak took on water, he swam to shore and alerted authorities, prompting a multi-agency search involving marine rescue, water police and a rescue helicopter. His 47-year-old mother, 12-year-old brother and 8-year-old sister were found around 8.30pm clinging to a paddleboard about 14km offshore and were rescued by a volunteer marine vessel.

All three had been wearing life jackets and were later assessed by paramedics and taken to Busselton Health Campus before being discharged over the weekend.

Image credit: Matthew Barra