A 15-year-old Alaska boy survived for days clinging to the top of a capsized fishing boat in the freezing Bering Sea after a trip with his older brother and cousin ended in tragedy.
Derek Parker Aghnaanga set out last Friday with his 35-year-old brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, and their cousin, 34-year-old Barton Rookok, to fish for halibut off St. Lawrence Island.
The group, from the remote village of Savoonga, was expected to return early Sunday.
They never made it home.
Family members reported them missing Sunday night, and the U.S. Coast Guard launched a search the following day using planes and helicopters.
At some point during the trip, the small fishing boat overturned.
Derek managed to climb onto the top of the capsized skiff and remained there for days with no food or water.
His mother, Vina Kulowiyi, later called her son a “survivor” and said he relied on prayer throughout the ordeal.
“He was never afraid the whole time,” she wrote.
The teenager was finally spotted kneeling on top of the overturned boat while wearing a bright yellow jacket.
The Coast Guard coordinated with a nearby fishing vessel, the Northwest Explorer, to rescue him.
Video from the dramatic operation shows crew members throwing Derek a line and pulling the capsized skiff closer before lifting him into a rescue basket.
Northwest Explorer captain Adam White said the teen’s survival was remarkable.
“I mean, that’s one tough kid,” White told KTUU-TV.
Derek was suffering from symptoms of hypothermia when he was brought aboard.
The crew quickly wrapped him in blankets and used hot packs to warm him.
White said that even as Derek’s teeth were chattering from the cold, he was able to explain what had happened to his family members.
The teen reportedly said his brother was still beneath the overturned skiff.
He also told rescuers that his cousin had been on top of the boat with him but slipped into the water the night before Derek was rescued.
The bodies of Kulowiyi and Rookok were later recovered.
Alaska State Troopers confirmed their identities.
The tragedy happened near St. Lawrence Island, an isolated part of Alaska located in the Bering Sea and closer to Russia than much of the mainland United States.
Derek survived despite spending days exposed to frigid temperatures, without food or water, while waiting for help to arrive.
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