A seven-year-old boy is now out of a coma after being stranded at sea for more than six hours in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Queensland Police and rescue services received a distress signal a little after 1:30am on Sunday, as 38-year-old Maike Hohnen, his friend Stephen Jeacocke, 48, and Hohnen’s son, Julian, were forced into the ocean off the coast of Caloundra as their boat sunk.
The two men reportedly took turns holding Julian out of the water while hanging on to floating Eskys and buckets. They were rescued around 8am after being spotted by the crew of an anchored tanker and immediately taken to hospital.
Seven-year-old Julian was flown to the Queensland Children’s Hospital suffering from hypothermia and in a critical condition, while both Hohnen and Jeacocke were taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Shortly after his arrival, Julian was placed into an induced coma.
Water temperatures were around 21C but still caused all three to suffer from hypothermia.
Julian’s parents issued a statement on Monday evening confirming their son was now in a stable condition and talking.
“This is a testament to his fighting spirit,” said the statement.
“He still requires further assessment, but his improvement today has given us hope.”
