Mates have shared footage of the incredible moment when a group of young Aussie surfers, missing off the coast of Indonesia, were found after being lost at sea for hours.
Elliot Foote, his partner Steph Weisse and mates Will Teagle and Jordan Short were among a group of 12 Australians who traveled on two wooden longboats between Nias Island and the Pinang Surf resort in the Banyak Islands, off the west coast of the mainland.
The two ships ran into bad weather on Sunday during the 50 km journey, which normally takes about three hours.
One of the boats took shelter on Sarang Alu, an island halfway to their destination, but the boat with four Australians and three Indonesian crew members on board continued to try to make the crossing despite the treacherous conditions.
After a 24-hour search, Steph, Will and Jordan were found alive and well floating on their surfboards Tuesday morning.
Elliot was found soon after after separating from the trio.
The group’s frantic friends at the resort have been advocating for a public aide for the past two days.
A mate on a search boat shared footage of the moment he saw Steph, Jordan and Will.
“Yes!! Wow!”
‘Elliot?’ is the question from the search boat.
‘Do you have him?’ asks Weisse.
“Where’s Elliot?”
Elliot’s father Peter Foote was speaking to reporters at the time as he hoped his son would also be found.
Confirmation came that Elliot had also been found shortly after, and that Mr. Foote received a text message moments later.
“Hey Dad, Elliot here. I’m alive, safe now, love you. Chat later,” his son had texted.
A relieved Mr. Foote wants to see Elliot as soon as possible.
“I still want to talk to him. I’m glad, you know, I’m glad I can talk now, you know, I’m not going to burst into laughter,’ he said.
Four Australians who went missing on a charter boat between Nias Island and the Pinang Surf Resort, on Pinang Island, have been found (Photo: Elliot Foote and Steph Weisse)
“I don’t know if I can celebrate. He has caused me too much pain to celebrate.
“I’ve aged 100 percent in the past two days.”
He has been told that his son is on his way to Penang Island where he will be reunited with his partner Steph and his mates.
He had become separated from the trio as he paddled to an island on his surfboard to seek help.
Mr. Foote hopes to get a call from Elliot later on Tuesday.
“He’ll contact his friends and hopefully grab a phone that works and call me from there,” he said.
“They’ll call off the search now, and Elliot’s on his way back to the island. They’ll all regroup and get well and probably have a great night tonight.”
Mr Foote set up base camp from his home in Bronte on Monday, keeping regular contact with authorities involved in the search and rescue effort.
It is clear that an Australian expatriate who volunteered to join the search for the group was the one who found missing Aussies.
They’ve been in the water for a long time, I don’t know how their health is,’ Mr Foote said.
“But they’ve been found, they’re alive, they’re fine. It’s all good, it’s great news. It’s actually unbelievable, that really pisses me off.’
He also thanked Australia for the messages of support.
The boat has not yet been located and it remains unclear whether the local crew members have been found on board.
The Aussies Jordan Short and Will Teagle have also been found
Peter Foote (pictured) spoke to the media at his home when it was confirmed that his son Elliot had also been found, along with his three friends
The group of 12 were all friends celebrating Elliot’s 30th birthday.
They planned to travel to the island to rent exclusive bungalows and surf for 10 days.
Hours before they went missing, Elliot revealed on social media that it was “so good” to be back in Indonesia.
‘Soho gulah Sorake… so nice to be back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with friends and the Queen,” he posted on Instagram.
‘Starting the journey with hiking in the jungle of North Sumatra and seeing orangutans was an amazing experience and something I look forward to doing again for a longer time and going deeper.
“Bukit Lawang is a beautiful place with such nice people.”
The four Aussies were found hours after their frantic families issued a statement through the State Department and Trade on Monday night.
“Our hearts ache at the thought of Elliot, Steph, Will and Jordan going missing at sea,” they said.
“We continue to pray and hope that they will be found.
“We would like to thank the Indonesian authorities and the Australian government for their continued assistance as search and rescue efforts continue.”
The first searches were started on Monday morning by the Pinang resort and the local authorities.
The group was among a group of 12 Australians in two wooden longboats traveling between Nias Island and the Pinang Surf resort in the Banyak Islands, off the west coast of the mainland, when bad weather hit the ship on Sunday.
Elliot Foote (pictured with girlfriend Steph Weisse) texted his father shortly after he was rescued on Tuesday
The group stayed at the exclusive Pinang Surf Resort (pictured)
Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency Octavianto, head of Nias Island, said a rescue team of more than 20 police, military and volunteers used small boats to battle severe weather in further efforts to find the Aussies.
“Last night, Pinang Resort reported that a speedboat with 10 passengers had arrived at Pinang Island (around 10:18 PM local time), while another speedboat with seven people on board had not yet arrived,” he said.
“We have deployed three vessels and they are now sailing to the search and rescue site.
“However, the problem is that the (missing vessel) is a simple wooden boat with no tracking devices or anything like that.”
Pinang Island is known for its seclusion, beautiful scenery and world-class surfing beaches (photo, Jordan Short)
Bad weather and poor visibility have so far hampered searchers’ ability to locate the missing Aussies (photo, Steph Weisse)
Pinang Island is known for its seclusion, beautiful scenery and world-class surf breaks.
It costs USD$150 per night to stay on the island for a ‘self-catering’ bungalow, which offers ‘daily surf trips to the Bay of Plenty of Bangkaru Island, plus round-trip transfer from Nias airport’.
“Our friend and surf guide will take you to the best spots,” reads the resort’s website.
Guests on the island receive an inclusive breakfast, lunch and dinner and access to snorkeling, fishing, spearfishing, SUP and kayaking.
The resort’s website states they are fully booked between August 13 and August 23, presumably the party of 10 Australians.
It also offers trips to the island from Nias, the website stating that they are ‘carried to our island by speedboat’.
Elliot Foote shared a series of photos (one above) from the group of 12 friends’ vacation just hours before they boarded the missing sloop