A 13-year-old boy swam for hours through rough ocean waters to save his family after they were swept out to sea off Australia’s coast, a heroic effort police say saved his mother and two younger siblings.

Austin Appelbee recalled ditching his life jacket so it wouldn’t restrict his swimming before he set off alone on a nearly four-hour-long, 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) swim that saw him battle huge waves until he ultimately reached shore and triggered a rescue that saved his mother, Joanne Appelbee, 47, his brother Beau, 12, and his sister Grace, 8, police said.

"The waves are massive, and I have no life jacket on.… I just kept thinking, ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,’" Austin said on Tuesday. "And then I finally I made it to shore, and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed."

The family, visiting from Perth, was using rented kayaks and paddle boards near Quindalup in Western Australia around midday Friday when strong winds and rough seas dragged them farther from shore. Austin initially tried to paddle for help on an inflatable kayak, but abandoned it when it began taking on water.

LA DEPUTIES CAUGHT ON CAMERA RACING INTO FOGGY OCEAN TO RESCUE DISORIENTED PARAGLIDERS

A search helicopter later found Joanne and the two younger children clinging to a paddleboard while wearing life jackets around 8:30 p.m. They had drifted about nine miles (14 kilometers) from shore and spent up to 10 hours in the water, police said.

"The actions of the 13-year-old boy cannot be praised highly enough — his determination and courage ultimately saved the lives of his mother and siblings," said Police Inspector James Bradley.

Joanne Appelbee said sending her eldest son for help was the hardest decision she has ever made.

MOTHER JUMPS INTO WATER TO SAVE 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WHO FELL BETWEEN CRUISE SHIP AND DOCK

"One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help,’" she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

She said the group tried to stay positive as conditions worsened, but fear set in as night approached and help had not yet arrived.

"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," she said.

By the time rescuers arrived, all three were shivering, and Beau had lost feeling in his legs due to the cold, his mother said.

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

All four family members were medically evaluated and did not require hospitalization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 12-year-old Australian boy died after a brutal shark attack in Sydney Harbor, his family confirmed Saturday. 

Nico Antic had been fighting for his life since Jan. 18, when he was attacked while swimming at a popular cliff-jumping spot known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse. 

His family announced Saturday that he had died.

"We are heartbroken to share that our son, Nico, has passed away," Nico’s parents, Lorena and Juan, said in a statement. "Nico was a happy, friendly, and sporty young boy with the most kind and generous spirit. He was always full of life and that’s how we’ll remember him."

SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT 'LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR' AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF: REPORTS

They also thanked first responders and medical staff at Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick for their efforts and members of the community for their support.

A GoFundMe campaign launched by a family friend had raised more than $266,000 as of Saturday evening.

FOURTH SHARK ATTACK IN THREE DAYS ROCKS AUSTRALIA AS AUTHORITIES CLOSE BEACHES AND DEPLOY DRUMLINES

According to police, the attack happened around 4:20 p.m. Jan. 18, after Antic jumped from a 20-foot ledge into the water. He sustained severe injuries to both legs, believed to have been caused by a large shark.

His three friends immediately jumped into the water, pulled him to shore and called for help. Antic was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. 

Local media reported at the time that he had lost both legs.

SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT "LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR" AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF: REPORTS

The tragedy is among a surge of shark incidents across Australia. Dozens of beaches were closed this week after four shark attacks in mere days.

Australia averages roughly 20 shark attacks a year, with fewer than three proving fatal, according to Reuters.

Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

A surfer in Australia escaped a shark attack with minor injuries on Tuesday, marking the fourth shark attack off the country’s most populous state in just three days.

The shark struck around 9 a.m. at Point Plomer, about 290 miles north of Sydney, damaging the 39-year-old man’s surfboard, officials said. The surfer suffered only minor cuts.

"The board seemed to take most of the impact," Matt Worrall, captain of the Kempsey–Crescent Head Surf Life Saving Club, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. "He made his own way into shore where he was assisted by locals."

Bystanders drove the surfer to a hospital, where he was treated and later released.

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The latest incident follows a string of attacks along the New South Wales coast. On Sunday and Monday, a man and a boy suffered critical leg injuries in separate attacks near Sydney, while another boy escaped unharmed after a shark bit his surfboard.

Authorities closed beaches along New South Wales’ northern coast and in northern Sydney, saying the closures would remain in place for at least 48 hours. Electronic drumlines designed to alert officials to the presence of large sharks were deployed offshore.

"If anyone's thinking of heading into the surf this morning anywhere along the northern beaches, think again. We have such poor water quality that’s really conducive to some bull shark activity," Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said.

"If you're thinking about going for a swim, just go to a local pool because at this stage, we’re advising that beaches are unsafe," Peace added.

MINNESOTA WOMAN KILLED IN US VIRGIN ISLANDS SHARK ATTACK

Authorities believe bull sharks are likely responsible for several of the attacks around Sydney, noting that recent heavy rainfall has increased murky freshwater runoff into Sydney Harbor.

One of the most serious attacks happened Sunday when a 12-year-old boy was attacked after jumping from a 20-foot ledge known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach in eastern Sydney. Police said the boy survived only because friends leaped into the water and pulled him to shore. Local media reported he lost both legs.

"He is in for the fight of his life now, and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance," said Superintendent Joseph McNulty of the New South Wales Police Marine Area Command.

An 11-year-old boy escaped unharmed Monday after a shark bit his surfboard at Dee Why Beach, and later that evening a surfer in his 20s was bitten on the leg at North Steyne Beach and hospitalized in critical condition.

Sydney’s northern beaches, including Dee Why and North Steyne, remained closed. Officials said it was unclear whether the attacks occurred near shark netting. Pearce said the Point Plomer area is isolated and does not have nets.

Dee Why Beach is near the site where a 57-year-old surfer was killed by a suspected great white shark last September. In November, a 25-year-old Swiss tourist was killed and her partner seriously injured in a separate attack north of Sydney.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 12-year-old Australian boy was fighting for his life after suffering catastrophic injuries in a shark attack in Sydney Harbor, surviving only because his friends leaped from a cliff and dragged him back to shore, authorities said.

The attack happened around 4:20 p.m. Sunday after the boy jumped from a 20-foot ledge known as Jump Rock near Shark Beach in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, police said in a statement. Police said the boy suffered severe injuries to both legs from what is believed to have been "a large shark."

His three friends immediately jumped into the water and pulled him to shore, actions authorities said likely saved his life.

"The actions of his mates who have gone into the water to pull him out have been nothing but brave," said Superintendent Joseph McNulty of the New South Wales Police Marine Area Command, calling the injuries "very confronting" for the young rescuers to witness.

MINNESOTA WOMAN KILLED IN US VIRGIN ISLANDS SHARK ATTACK

Local media reports said the boy lost both legs in the attack.

"He is in for the fight of his life now, and the actions of emergency services yesterday gave him that chance," McNulty said.

The attack was one of three shark encounters reported in the Sydney area in just over 24 hours.

SURFER SAYS SHARK ATTACK FELT 'LIKE BEING HIT BY A CAR' AS BOARD BITTEN IN HALF: REPORTS

On Monday evening, a surfer in his 20s was bitten on the leg by a shark off North Steyne Beach in the northern suburb of Manly. Bystanders pulled him from the water before he was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

Earlier Monday, an 11-year-old boy escaped unharmed after a shark bit into his surfboard at Dee Why Beach, also north of Manly.

Authorities believe bull sharks may be responsible for at least the first two attacks. Police said recent heavy rainfall had increased murky freshwater runoff into Sydney Harbor, conditions known to heighten bull shark activity.

Sydney’s northern beaches, including North Steyne and Dee Why, remained closed as a precaution. All three locations have shark netting, though officials said it was not immediately clear whether the attacks occurred near those barriers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

"Oh baby. Don’t move. There is like a 2.5-meter python on you."

An Australian woman woke up in the middle of the night to discover a massive carpet python coiled across her chest after the snake slithered into her second-story bedroom in Brisbane, Queensland.

Rachel Bloor said she initially believed the heavy weight on her stomach and chest was her dog lying on top of her. But when she reached out under the covers, she felt something smooth move beneath her hand and realized it was not her pet.

"To my horror, I realized it wasn’t my dog," Bloor told the BBC.

550-POUND BEAR FINALLY EVICTED FROM CALIFORNIA HOME AFTER BIZARRE STRATEGY ENDS MONTHLONG ORDEAL

The 2.5-meter, or roughly 8-foot, snake had made its way into her bedroom Monday night, according to the report.

Bloor said she immediately woke her husband and asked him to turn on the lights.

"He goes, ‘Oh baby. Don’t move. There is like a 2.5-meter python on you,’" she recalled.

Her first concern, Bloor said, was getting the family dogs out of the room before anything escalated.

"I thought if my Dalmatian realized that there’s a snake there, it is gonna be carnage," she said.

After her husband removed the dogs, Bloor carefully worked her way out from beneath the covers.

LARGE BURMESE PYTHON ON VIDEO GETTING PULLED FROM FLORIDA NEIGHBORHOOD TREE: 'IT WAS PRETTY DANGEROUS’

"I sort of side-shuffled out," she said.

Rather than calling a professional snake catcher, Bloor said she stayed calm and ushered the large reptile out of the bedroom herself through a window.

"I grabbed him," she said, adding that the python "didn’t seem overly freaked out."

"He sort of just wobbled in my hand," she said.

Bloor suspects the snake entered through plantation shutters on her window and crawled onto the bed while she slept.

"It was that big that even though it had been curled up on me, part of its tail was still out the shutter," she said.

FLORIDA WOMAN WINS ANNUAL PYTHON CHALLENGE WITH RECORD SNAKE HAUL

The snake was identified as a carpet python, a non-venomous constrictor commonly found in Australia’s coastal regions.

Despite the frightening encounter, Bloor said she was relieved it was not another animal.

"Toads freak me out," she said.

Snake catcher Kurt Whyte told ABC News that snake activity has increased with breeding season over and eggs beginning to hatch.

"Obviously, with this hot weather, we’re seeing plenty of them getting out and about and basking in this sun," Whyte said.

Whyte added that while snake populations have not necessarily increased, sightings are becoming more common as housing developments expand into Australian bushland.

"They have got to find places to live, and our backyards are offering the perfect habitat," he said.

He warned that common household features could provide easy access for snakes seeking shelter.

"Unfortunately, the gaps in our garage doors… provide the perfect entry points for a snake," Whyte said.

Social media companies have removed access to millions of accounts belonging to children in Australia in the first month since the country’s historic ban took effect, requiring platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok to identify and deactivate users under the age 16.

Access was revoked for roughly 4.7 million users, according to Australian officials, who on Friday touted the early success of the law, which was enacted in mid-December amid fears surrounding the impact of online environments on young people.

"Today, we can announce that this is working," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a news conference. "This is a source of Australian pride. This was world-leading legislation, but it is now being followed up around the world."

Under the law, 10 social media giants — Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and YouTube — must locate and deactivate accounts of Australian users under the age of 16. The companies face fines of up to $33 million if they don’t take "reasonable steps" to remove underage users.

AUSTRALIAN MOTHER CALLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AGE RESTRICTIONS AFTER DAUGHTER'S SUICIDE

"We stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters," said Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells. "Now Australian parents can be confident that their kids can have their childhoods back."

According to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, there are roughly 2.5 million Australians between the ages of 8 and 15, with about 84% of 8- to 12-year-olds having at least one social media account. While the total number of accounts across platforms is unknown, Inman Grant said the number of deactivated or restricted accounts was encouraging.

"We’re preventing predatory social media companies from accessing our children," she said at a news conference.

NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICAN VOTERS BACK SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR KIDS UNDER 16, FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS

Critics of the new ban have argued that it will be difficult to enforce, and Inman Grant acknowledged that there are still some active underage accounts.

"We don't expect safety laws to eliminate every single breach. If we did, speed limits would have failed because people speed, drinking limits would have failed because, believe it or not, some kids do get access to alcohol," she said.

She added that based on data reviewed by her office, there was an increase in downloads of alternative apps after the ban began, but not a spike in usage.

Social media platforms can verify age by either requesting copies of identification documents, using a third party to apply age estimation technology to an account holder’s face, or making inferences from data already available, such as how long an account has been active.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said earlier this week that it had removed nearly 550,000 accounts belonging to users it believed were under the age of 16 just one day after the ban began.

While the law was popular among parents and child safety campaigners, online privacy advocates and groups representing teenagers largely came out against it.

FRANCE REPORTEDLY PLANNING TO BAN CHILDREN UNDER 15 FROM SOCIAL MEDIA STARTING 2026

Other countries have weighed similar measures in step with Australia, and some American lawmakers have also signaled their interest in pursuing social media restrictions in the U.S.

"I think we ought to look at what Australia’s doing, for example, requiring access to these social media platforms to not be available to anybody under the age of 16," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said last month.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., previously said that "protecting children is an avenue that should be pursued."

"I won’t rule out some sort of limitation in sales or distribution or use of those devices… Parents and grandparents need a helping hand; this is getting out of hand," he said.

Fox News Digital's Nora Moriarty, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.