A boy has described how he believes God sustained him through hours of swimming to save his family, who were stranded off the Western Australia coast.
A paddleboarding trip for 13-year-old Austin Applebee and family turned into a ten-hour ordeal as his family were pushed off course by strong wind.
Applebee began to paddle in his kayak, but it took on water so he swam the remaining two nautical miles back to shore.
Having swum for four hours, he raised the alarm when reaching Quindaulp Beach. His actions were described as “superhuman” by rescuers.
The teenager has now revealed that prayer, Christian songs and happy thoughts kept him going.
Speaking to 7News Australia, he said: “I don’t think it was me who did it. It was God the whole time.
“I kept praying and praying, and I said to God, ‘I’ll get baptised, I’ll get baptised.’”
He said he "had a lot of guilt in his heart" not knowing if he made it quickly enough for his family to be saved.
Applebee said he then went to church that Sunday. “I didn't think I was a hero - I just did what I did,” he told the BBC.
His mother, Joanne Applebee, “assumed Austin hadn’t made it” because of the time it took for rescuers to arrive.