A 15-year-old boy has survived after spending several days adrift on an overturned boat in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. His older brother and cousin have died, BBC News reported.
The US Coast Guard said the three fishermen set off from St. Lawrence Island on Friday, September 4, and were due to return on Sunday afternoon. The search was launched after the 18-foot (5.5 m) fishing boat failed to return as scheduled.
On Monday morning, Coast Guard personnel found the teenager sitting on the overturned boat. He was rescued by a nearby fishing boat, whose crew pulled him aboard. Rescuers later found the bodies of two of his relatives.
The Coast Guard said the boy had signs of frostbite. Adam White, the captain of the boat that rescued him, told local television station KTUU-TV that the water temperature was about 10 degrees Celsius. He said the boy spent two nights on the boat in the dark, clinging to it.
“He’s a very tough guy,” White said. He also said the boy told him that his brother was still under the capsized boat, and that his cousin had died the day before the rescue.
The boy’s mother, Vina Kulovii, wrote on Facebook that the boat capsized on Saturday, after which her son spent about two days at sea without food or water. She said the boys had gone fishing to provide meat for families in their community, where not all residents have the opportunity to regularly buy it at the local store.
The young man, who his family has named Derek Parker Agnaanga, is now recovering at home. His mother wrote that he did not give in to fear and “prayed” throughout his time on the boat.
The family lives in Seungwa, a village of about 800 people on St. Lawrence Island. The majority of its population are Siberian Yupik, for whom fishing and hunting are an important part of their traditional way of life.
“My sons were raised as breadwinners. It’s a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. We hunt, provide for our families, and share food with the community,” Kulovi wrote.
Rear Admiral Bob Little, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Region, expressed his condolences to the families and communities of the fishermen who died.
