A 15-year-old boy has been rescued after spending days on a capsized boat in the frigid waters of Alaska's Bering Sea. Derek Parker Aghnaanga was the sole survivor from the skiff, having lost his older brother and cousin in the incident.
The trio had departed from St Lawrence Island on Friday, 4 September, and were due back the following Sunday afternoon, according to the US Coast Guard. A search effort was launched when the 18-foot fishing vessel failed to return.
A Coast Guard aircrew located the boy on top of the overturned boat on Monday morning, and a nearby good Samaritan vessel pulled him to safety. That vessel also recovered the bodies of his two relatives. The boy showed signs of hypothermia when rescued.
The boy's mother, Vina Kulowiyi, stated on Facebook that their fishing boat capsized on Saturday, leaving Aghnaanga without food or water for two days at sea. She said her sons were fishing to provide for their community in Savoonga, a village primarily inhabited by Siberian Yupik peoples.