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Missing teenagers found in ‘Christmas miracle’

Teenagers survive being swept across Port Phillip Bay

Four teenagers have been found alive in what police have hailed a “Christmas miracle” after going missing in waters off Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

Two 18-year-old men and two women aged 18 and 19 were found on the western side of Port Phillip Bay on Swan Island about 9am on Tuesday – more than 12 hours after they were last seen in the waters off Rosebud.

They were taken to Geelong Hospital in stable conditions with no obvious injuries, Ambulance Victoria said.

The group were using two inflatable paddle boards off Rosebud Beach on Monday – about 30 kilometres away across open water from where they were eventually found on the Bellarine Peninsula.

They were swept by the tide, wind and current from Rosebud, across the bay to the Queenscliff area, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Terence Rowlands said.

missing teenagers swan island

Overnight the teenagers drifted from Rosebud in the east, across Port Phillip Bay to Swan Island. Image: Google Maps

The four were found on a Swan Island beach, Security and military personnel from the Defence Department’s training base on the island ultimately alerted police to their discovery.

“You can see the smile on my face – [it’s] absolutely sensational that they’ve been found safe and well,” Superintendent Rowlands said.

“Luck has had a lot to do with it.”

The teenagers were cold but very thankful to be on dry land when they were found.

“All too often, these things usually end in tragedy,” Acting Inspector Ian Pregnell said told Melbourne radio station 3AW.

“This is, one might say, a Christmas miracle.”

It was an emotional time when families were told the teenagers’ were found, he said. The parents were with police when news of the discovery came through.

“To be actually able to present them with the news that they’ve been found safe and well, it was a really emotional, happy time,” Acting Inspector Pregnell told ABC Radio.

Father Jack Shi told Nine News the parents were relieved their kids were safe.

“We’re very, very happy about that. It’s huge, huge relief. We were very desperate,” he said.

“We were very much worried, they were not good swimmers, they can swim but do not have the skills to swim in the bay,” he said.

Mr Shi said the group had been celebrating their VCE results.

“They wanted to get some fun, but they did not manage the risk, I think it’s a good lesson for him, maybe too risky,” he said.

Swan Island has the military training base on one side and the Queenscliff Golf Club on the other.

It has a long history of military use and a fort was originally established on the island to protect the entrance to Port Phillip Bay from potential Russian invasion in the 1870s.

During World War I it was used as a depot for naval mines, but has been a training area since World War II.

Winds in the area were easterly and south-easterly on Monday night and overnight, and averaged 20-30km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology

However, at South Channel Island – a close observation point – winds were 30-40km/h.

The highest gust recorded was 52km/h about 4am on Tuesday, although the observation point was particularly exposed, duty forecaster Ilana Cherny said.

The group’s belongings, including phones and IDs, were found on the beach by a passerby about 8pm on Monday, triggering the search.

The hunt for the teenagers was called off about 4am on Tuesday because of deteriorating conditions, before resuming at first light.

A man who said he was the father of one of the boys told Seven’s Sunrise program earlier on Tuesday the teens had just completed their final school exams and went to Rosebud for an end-of-year celebration.

Their successful rescue came a day after a couple was found safe and well in the Grampians in Victoria’s west, after their car became bogged at the weekend, also sparking a search.

-with AAP

Topics: victoria
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