15-Year-Old Rescued After Days Adrift Following Alaskan Skiff Capsize
A teenage boy survived three days on a capsized fishing boat in the Bering Sea and was rescued on Monday, while his brother and cousin were found dead.
A 15-year-old boy was rescued on Monday after spending several days atop an overturned 18-foot fishing skiff in the Bering Sea. The vessel, which had left St. Lawrence Island on September 4, failed to return, prompting a search by the U.S. Coast Guard. Coast Guard aircrew located the boy sitting on the hull, and a nearby vessel retrieved him and the bodies of his older brother and cousin.
The rescued teen showed signs of hypothermia, according to Coast Guard officials. Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard’s Arctic District, expressed condolences to the families and communities affected.
The captain of the rescue vessel reported that the boy clung to the skiff through cold, dark conditions, noting that the teen mentioned his brother remained under the boat and his cousin had slipped away the previous night. The boy’s mother said the three were fishing to provide food for their remote community on St. Lawrence Island, where subsistence hunting and fishing are vital.