NEED TO KNOW

• Australia's Victoria Police said that two paddleboarders, later identified as a mother and stepson, had been swept more than 6 miles from where they had set off on Dec. 25

• The pair were later rescued and did not sustain physical injuries, authorities said

• Four other people were saved in two separate water-related incidents that also took place on Christmas Day in Victoria

In what turned out to be a Christmas Day miracle, two paddleboarders were rescued following a scary incident in southern Australia that swept them miles away from where they had originally set off.

The Victoria Police stated in a news release that the pair — identified by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a 51-year-old woman and her 17-year-old stepson — had set off to paddleboard from the Portarlington caravan park jetty at about 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 25.

However, police said, conditions quickly deteriorated and the two drifted out into the bay.  A relative contacted authorities around 5 p.m. after they did not return.

Authorities later said that the pair, who were not wearing life jackets, had been swept over 6 miles from Portarlington into Wyndham Harbour, where they were discovered about 6:20 p.m. local time.

“Local police units on the ground, Air Wing, Life Saving Victoria and Queenscliff Coast Guards assisted in the search before Air Wing officers spotted the duo,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“They were laying on their paddleboards and waving for assistance,” the police continued.

Authorities said they were able to pull the mother and stepson and their paddleboards from the water, noting, "Apart from being exhausted and cold they were luckily not physically injured."

Acting Senior Sgt. Michael Quirk of the water police told ABC that conditions at the time of the search were choppy, including strong south-westerly winds that approached up to 35 knots.

"The search area was quite large given the time frames and the distance someone could move in those sorts of conditions," Quirk said.

He also said that it was very fortunate that the two managed to hold onto their boards to stay afloat during the ordeal.

"No doubt their lives were saved … given the conditions, and they were probably at some point moving further away from land, and there was no other real assistance out there for them,” Quirk said, according to ABC.

Four people were additionally rescued in two separate water-related incidents in Victoria on Thursday.

Victoria Police said authorities responded to Lake King in Paynesville about 1:30 p.m. local time after being notified of a kayaker in trouble. They learned that a man who had not been seen for two hours was observed struggling before his kayak rolled over.

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“Water Police, Air Wing and the coast guard searched for the Hoppers Crossing man before he was spotted by the Air Wing just before 3 p.m.,” Victoria Police said.

“A smoke marker was dropped by the Air Wing, highlighting the man’s location, where the 41-year-old was picked up by the coastguard and returned unharmed to shore,” they added.

Meanwhile, police were alerted to Westernport Bay after a mother and her two teen daughters ran into trouble near the Corinella jetty at approximately 2:10 p.m. local time. Authorities learned that the trio, all of whom were wearing life jackets, were trying to retrieve a kayak that had gone adrift “when the current and strong winds swept them a significant distance from shore.”

The mother and daughter found themselves in the waters about less than a mile from the shore line, Victoria Police added. The trio was later spotted and a rescue helicopter arrived.

“The women were all winched to safety and dropped back to Corinella without injury,” Victoria Police said in its statement.

Read the original article on People