HELP! Three teenagers rescued after their car got stuck near Kalbarri

Three teenagers were rescued from their stuck car south of Kalbarri on Saturday after a “HELP” message they had written in the sand was detected by a plane.

At around 3pm, air traffic control informed WA Police that they had received information from the pilot of a plane they had seen near Pink Lake.

A WA Police spokeswoman said officers from Kalbarri Police and Mid West – Gascoyne Traffic had been deployed to the area to establish the nature of the emergency.

“About half an hour later, a second report was received that someone on another plane had seen the same distress message,” she said.

“WA Police requested assistance from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which had its Perth-based Challenger aircraft in the area.

“The AMSA Challenger aircraft flew over the area and was able to provide police with GPS coordinators of the stranded vehicle.”

The officers drove as close to the area as possible, before the rising tide on the beach and the rough terrain on the other side of the stranded group prevented them from driving any further.

They walked through the brush and dry lake to where the vehicle – a white Holden Colorado – was located and found the three teenagers unharmed.