A teen is being hailed a hero after he had to swim for hours through rough waters to save his family’s lives.

Austin Applebee, his mother Joanne and his siblings Beau and Grace were on vacation from Perth, Australia, and were enjoying the ocean off the coast of Australia near Quindalup, when rough ocean and strong winds blew them away from shore.

When they got too far out, Austin turned back to land, using the inflatable kayak outfitted by their hotel to go get help.

His mother sent him for help because she said she couldn’t leave her children alone.

“One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was to say to Austin: ‘Try and get to shore and get some help. This could get really serious really quickly,’” Joanne Applebee told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

But the seas were too much, and the watercraft started taking in water, NBC News reported.

That’s when he decided to abandon ship and start swimming to shore. At one point, he had to take off his life jacket to be able to swim better.

“The waves are massive and I have no life jacket on. — I just kept thinking ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming,’” he said, according to NBC News.

He swam for about four hours, for about two-and-a-half hours before he got back on land.

“And then I finally I made it to shore and I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed,” he said.

Once he was able to, he used his mother’s phone that had been left in a bag on a beach to call for help, the BBC reported.

“I said ‘I need helicopters, I need planes, I need boats, my family’s out at sea.’ I was very calm about it,” Austin told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

They had left the hotel at around noon. Austin made it back around 6 p.m.

Officials called Austin’s swim “superhuman,” the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

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

Eventually, a search helicopter found his mother and siblings who were wearing life jackets, around 8:30 p.m.

They had drifted about 9 miles from shore. About five minutes before being located, the family, who had been tethered to the paddleboard, were separated by a large wave.

“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,” Police Inspector James Bradley said.

Beau had lost feeling in his legs because of the long hours in cold water, and his mother and sister were both shivering by the time rescue crews arrived.

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

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