A 15‑year‑old boy was rescued Monday after spending days adrift in the frigid waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea, perched atop an overturned 18‑foot fishing vessel that had capsized on Saturday.
The boy, identified by family as Derek Parker Aghnaanga, was the sole survivor, while his older brother and cousin were lost in the incident.
The trio had departed from St Lawrence Island on Friday 4 September and were expected back the following Sunday afternoon, according to the US Coast Guard. When the skiff failed to return, a search was launched.
A Coast Guard aircrew located the boy sitting on top of the overturned boat on Monday morning, and a nearby good Samaritan vessel pulled him to safety. That same vessel also recovered the bodies of his two relatives.
Rear Admiral Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, said, “Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic loss of these two mariners.”
The boy showed signs of hypothermia when rescued. The captain of the vessel that pulled him to safety, Adam White, told a local Anchorage news outlet that Derek had clung to the skiff through darkness and water temperatures around 50°F (10°C).
“That’s one tough kid,” White said. “Through the teeth chattering, he mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff, and then he said that, in the previous night, before our rescue, that his cousin had slipped away.”
According to the boy’s mother, Vina Kulowiyi, the family were fishing to provide for members of their community in Savoonga, a village of about 800 residents on St Lawrence Island. “My boys were born and raised to be providers. A tradition that is passed on,” she wrote on Facebook. “We hunt and provide for families and share the community.”
She added that her son is recovering at home and that he was “never afraid the whole time,” noting that he had been “praying the whole time.”
The rescue underscores the harsh conditions faced by Alaska’s fishing communities and the resilience of its young members.
