Alaskan teenager rescued after three days adrift in Bering Sea
A 15-year-old boy survived 62 hours on a capsized skiff in the Bering Sea before being rescued by a fishing vessel, while his brother and cousin drowned.
A 15-year-old Alaskan boy was rescued on Monday after spending more than two days clinging to a capsized skiff that drifted into the Bering Sea near St. Lawrence Island. The teen, Derek Parker Aghnaanga, had been fishing for halibut with his brother and cousin when the small boat overturned on Sept. 4. Alaska State Troopers reported the missing party on Sunday night, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to locate the overturned vessel at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. The Coast Guard then directed the fishing vessel Northwest Explorer, whose captain Adam White described seeing an “unusual object” on the horizon, to retrieve the survivor.
White said the crew sounded their horn and approached the overturned skiff, finding Aghnaanga on top of the hull. He noted the water temperature was around 10 °C and that the teen showed signs of hypothermia. Crew members wrapped him in blankets and kept him talking as the vessel headed toward Nome to reunite him with his family.
According to a family member, Aghnaanga’s brother, 35-year-old Sidney Kulowiyi, and cousin, 34-year-old Barton Rookok, slipped off the boat and drowned. The teen survived without food or water for several days. A GoFundMe campaign set up to assist the family has nearly reached its $40,000 goal.