'I am alive, safe now.' Inside the rescue of the four Aussie surfers lost at sea.

Footage has emerged online showing the moment a group of Aussie surfers, who'd gone missing off the coast of Indonesia, were found.

The video, shared by Ben Cradock, showed the point of view of rescuers as they discovered Steph Weisse, Will Teagle and Jordan Short floating in the sea on their surfboards after their boat went missing on Tuesday.

In another photo shared on Instagram, fourth surfer Elliot Foote was shown alive, but putting on display injuries he'd sustained while stuck at sea for two days.

Watch: The moment the three surfers were found. Post continues after video.

The happy news caps off one hell of a 48 hours for the four Australians, along with their families and friends.

Elliot's father, Peter Foote, had put together exciting plans for his son's 30th birthday: a trip to Indonesia, full of surfing, hiking, sun and sand, with almost a dozen friends.

But on Monday, a search party was launched for Elliot, his partner Steph and two other friends, Will and Jordan.

Miraculously, the four have now been found.

"Elliot is turning 30 in September and for his 30th birthday I sent him and his mates there on surfing trip," father Peter told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Elliot attended Scots College in Sydney and lived in Bronte before moving to Mullumbimby to live with Steph.

"There are a few Scots boys there, mates just from the beach in Bronte, and he's recently moved to Mullumbimby, so there are some mates from there as well," Peter said.

The four were part of a group in a wooden speedboat travelling to Pinang Island, a private island which, on its website, offers guests a "castaway lifestyle".

The group, which travelled in two separate boats, had intended to rent out bungalows on the island for 10 days.

The boats left Nias Island, located around 150 kilometres from Indonesia's Sumatra island, on Sunday afternoon and experienced bad weather with very heavy rain during the trip.

Image: Nine.

Ten of them decided to stay and shelter on Sarang Alu Island, while the others continued the trip, Nias Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement on Monday.

The resort on Pinang Island later reported to the agency that the boat with 10 passengers had safely arrived, but the boat that had left earlier had not been seen.

Their loved ones were holding out hope for the group, which also included three Indonesian crew members.

"They have life jackets on board, they had food and water and there is shelter on the boat. It has a roof," he told the SMH.

"Apparently the waves weren't that problematic. It was just the visibility in the storm. We're all hoping they've either run out of fuel or they got lost and missed the island or more likely there may be an engine failure on the boat, which unfortunately doesn't have any GPS."

The friends in the boat that did reach Pinang were "all beside themselves at the island", he said.

At least two rescue boats, a medical boat and a plane chartered by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were searching for them.

A day earlier, Elliot had posted images from the trip on Instagram, saying it was "good being back in Indo after so many years. Sharing waves with mates and the queen", with 'the queen' being a reference to Weisse.

"Starting the trip off with hiking in the North Sumatran jungle and seeing Orangutans was an amazing experience and something that I look forward to doing again for a longer time and going deeper," he said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Elliot Foote (@elliotfoote)

On Monday night, the families of the missing Australians issued a statement saying they were holding onto hope they would be found.

"Our hearts are aching at the thought that Elliot, Steph, Will and Jordan are missing at sea. We continue to pray and hold out hope they will be found," it said.

"We'd like to thank the Indonesian authorities and the Australian government for their ongoing assistance while search and rescue efforts continue."

Then on Tuesday at around lunchtime, news came in that the Aussies had been found alive and well.

The Daily Telegraph initially reported that the group of four were rescued at about 11am AEST on Tuesday. A Google document used by the four families and seen by The Daily Telegraph was updated to read: "All four Australians found alive."

It is understood that Steph, Jordan and Will were found floating on surfboards together, while Elliot – who had gone in search of help – was then rescued not far away.

A friend on the trip has said Elliot was found "over 20 miles away after being lost at sea by himself". The friend then said it was local fishermen who rescued Elliot and reunited him with his friends and authorities. 

Elliot's father Peter has spoken of his relief, saying he received a text message from his son assuring him that he was alive and well. 

"Hey Dad, Elliot here. I am alive, safe now, love you. Chat later," Elliot reportedly texted his father from someone else's phone.

"Yes, it sounds like all four have been found and that's great," Peter said. "A lot of people were looking today, but they have been in the water a long time and I don't know how they are going to be health-wise, but they are found alive and well, so it's all good."

Although the four Australians have been found, there is still one person who remains missing.

Along with the four Australians on board that boat, there were also three Indonesian crew. Two of these crew members were found, but one remains missing. It is presumed that the rescue efforts for the remaining missing Indonesian person are now a retrieval mission, amidst fears he has passed away. 

The four Australians – Steph, Jordan, Will and Elliot – are yet to speak publicly of their ordeal, but reports say the four are now safe and with officials and receiving medical care. 

- with AAP

Feature image: Instagram/@elliotfoote.

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