“We got lost out there,” hero teen Austin Appelbee can be heard telling emergency services after swimming for hours to raise the alert about his mother and siblings adrift in the Indian Ocean.

The 13-year-old was hailed as a hero after his four-hour swim to safety of Western Australia’s south-west coast earlier this month.

On Wednesday, WA Police released the triple-zero call Austin made after finally reaching shore to call for help for his mother Joanne Appelbee, 47, and two younger siblings Beau, 12, and Grace, 8.

The family had been kayaking and paddleboarding when rough ocean and wind conditions started dragging them out to sea. They eventually drifted 14 kilometres in the ocean off Quindalup, about 250 kilometres south of Perth.

“We couldn’t get back to shore and mum told me to go back to get help. I haven’t seen them since then,” Austin tells the emergency call operator.

“I think they’re kilometres out to sea. I think we need a helicopter to go find them. I’m sitting on the beach right now, I think I need an ambulance because I think I’ve got hypothermia.

“I don’t know what their condition is right now and I’m really scared.”

The teenager then gives more details about when the family went into the water, a description of their paddleboards. He also said he could no longer see them.

“Mum said, ‘Go get help’. We were in massive trouble,” Austin said.

The audio was released with permission from Joanne Appelbee.

The family had drifted 14 kilometres by the time they were rescued. Photo: AMSA

“What Austin did was nothing short of extraordinary,” Acting Sergeant Andrew McDonnell said.

“His bravery and courage in those conditions were remarkable, and his actions were pivotal in bringing about a successful outcome.

“The situation the Appelbee family found themselves in was extremely dire. They were in real trouble, and time was absolutely critical given how long they had been in the water and with daylight fading.

“By getting himself to safety and relaying critical information, he helped enable a co-ordinated response involving WA Police, local Marine Rescue volunteers and St John Ambulance – all people who live in and serve this community, many of whom do so as volunteers.”

Joanne Appelbee made the difficult decision to send her eldest child to seek help because he was the strongest and the most likely to make it.

Austin said he initially set off on an inflatable kayak, but it was taking on water. He abandoned the kayak and then also took off his life jacket because it impeded his swimming.

After that, he swam for about four hours through rough seas, trying to focus on positive thoughts.

“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. … I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming’,” he said afterwards.

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

A search began after Austin called for help. His family, wearing life jackets and clinging to a paddleboard, were eventually found hours later.

Hero teen Austin Appelbee with mum Joanne and siblings Beau and Grace. Photo: WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services

Joanne Appelbee said sending Austin for help was “one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make”. She said she was confident the teenager would make it but began to have doubts as the sun set without help arriving.

“We kept positive, we were singing and we were joking and … we were treating it as a bit of a game until the sun started to go down and that’s when it was getting very choppy. Very big waves,” Joanne Appelbee said.

All three were shivering and 12-year-old Beau had lost sensation in his legs because of the cold by the time they were rescued, she said.

“I have three babies. All three made it. That was all that mattered,” she said.

All four family members were medically assessed but none required hospital admission.

Austin said he did what was needed to save his family.

“I didn’t think I was a hero — I just did what I did,” he told the BBC.