Paragraph 2
Austin made it to the
and phoned for help. This sparked a
rescue operation, which resulted in coastguards finding the teenager's mother and two
sisters. The boy said: "I hit the
of the beach and I just collapsed, and then, after that, I had to sprint two kilometres to get to the phone." Rescuers called his efforts "
". One rescuer said Austin's actions could not "be praised
enough". He added that the teenager's "determination and
ultimately saved the lives of his mother and
". Austin's mother Joanne, 47, told reporters: "The
picked up. We lost oars, and we drifted out further. It was an absolute
."