A 12-year-old boy and his 18-year-old brother missing in a boat off Western Australia's Pilbara coast have been found and winched to safety aboard a rescue helicopter.
Rescue crews had been searching for the pair after they went missing at 4:00pm yesterday on a three-metre inflatable zodiac.
Police Media Sergeant Alice Cockram said the alarm was raised last night.
"It was reported that a three-metre inflatable zodiac left South Lefroy Bay at approximately 4:00pm yesterday," she said.
"They intended to travel south-east inside the reef towards Norwegian Bay and were due back at 6:00pm, however they did not return."
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority sent up a jet aircraft and three helicopters to look for the pair.
Six volunteer marine rescue and government boats, and 12 recreational vessels also took part in the search covering an area of about 240 square nautical miles.
A helicopter located the pair about 12:45pm, about 7 kilometres from shore and about 30km west of Learmonth.
Police said the brothers had run out of fuel, after setting out with only three litres in the zodiac's six-horsepower motor.
"So they succumbed to the elements and drifted with the currents and the wind," Acting Sergeant Brendan Packard said.
Acting Sergeant Packard said their small boat was not easy to spot in the massive search zone and the pair were very lucky, especially since they did not have any safety equipment with them.
"They were unprepared and if they had have had some safety gear things might have been concluded a little sooner," he said.
The brothers were winched aboard a rescue helicopter and flown to Exmouth where they were assessed and found to be dehydrated but otherwise in good health.
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