Kalbarri rescue: Missing boaties rescued, while two others swam ashore after boat capsized off Lucky Bay

Four people are lucky to be alive after their boat capsized off the coast of Kalbarri, forcing two to swim kilometres back to shore for help as the other pair were left treading in open water for over an hour.

A major search and rescue operation was launched just after 7am on Saturday after police received reports that a 3.7m vessel had overturned and sent all four passengers into the water, about 2km offshore from Kalbarri, near Lucky Bay.

On board were two men, a woman aged in her 50s, and a 16-year-old boy.

Two of them managed to swim the 2km back to shore, with the Kalbarri Marine Rescue tasked with carrying out a search for the remaining two.

Miraculously, rescuers from The Department of Fire and Emergency Services found the pair alive at sea after an intense 90-minute search.

The RAC Rescue helicopter that was dispatched to help with search efforts was quickly stood down once marine rescue had found them.

Two of the boaties, a man and a woman in their 50s, were taken to Northampton Nursing Post with no major injuries. They were discharged on Saturday afternoon, a WA Country Health Service spokeswoman said.

The other two, a teenager and a man in his 40s, were taken to Kalbarri Nursing Post. It is understood they also escaped the ordeal with no injuries.

Kalbarri Police Station officer-in-charge Sergeant Adrian Warring said the vessel was anchored at a lagoon off the coast of Lucky Bay before it drifted out to the ocean and capsized.

“They had anchored the vessel just inside the lagoon. Unfortunately, somehow the anchor was lifted and the current there is very strong which made the boat drift out into the open water,” he said.

“Once they drifted out to the ocean, they capsized.

“I believe the two that swam back were the vessel owners.

“The two other (people) weren’t known to those people, just met this morning and went onboard.”

Sgt Warring commended the search efforts of marine rescue volunteers and other emergency services.

“They’re all volunteers, they came in and were out on the water by 7.30am, so that was a great turnaround,” he said.

Sgt Warring said although everyone was safe, the ordeal served as a reminder for boat users to properly equip themselves with safety equipment this summer.

“I think this is a reminder to all ... if you are going to go out on your vessel, to ensure you have all your emergency equipment, including making sure that everyone on board is wearing a life jacket, you’ve got EPIRBS, you’ve got flares and all that kind of stuff,” he said.

“The ocean as we know is very unpredictable and things can change in a matter of a flash.”