A 15-year-old Alaskan boy rescued from a capsized boat after three days made a horrifying revelation when he was pulled to safety by a passing fishing vessel.
Derek Parker Aghnaanga had been fishing for halibut along with his cousin and brother when their small skiff overturned near St. Lawrence Island and drifted into the Bering Sea Sept. 4.
He was the only survivor, and watched his brother and cousin die.
“Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff and then he said that in the previous night before our rescue that his cousin had slipped away off the top of the skiff,” Adam White, captain of the Northwest Explorer, told Alaska’s News Source.
The Coast Guard spotted the teen clinging to his capsized skiff at around 10:30 a.m. Monday, after Alaska State Troopers notified them on Sunday night that the party hadn’t returned home, and asked the Northwest Explorer and its crew of 13 to pick him up.
“We saw the unusual object on the horizon. We blasted our horn a couple times,” White said.
Dramatic rescue footage shows crews approaching the overturned boat, as it becomes clear a living human being is on top of the vessel.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s remarkable, and it’s cold. The water is 10 degrees Celsius,” White added, describing the rescue.
The Northwest Explorer, a fishing vessel that also included scientists, hauled Aghnaanga on board.
He was suffering hypothermia symptoms by the time he was pulled aboard the Northwest Explorer, where crew members wrapped him in blankets and kept him talking as they headed toward Nome, to reunite him with his family.
Aghnaanga clung to the boat as his brother, 35-year-old Sidney Kulowiyi, and cousin, Barton Rookok, 34, slipped off and drowned, a family member told Alaska’s News Source.
The teen held on for days without food or water after his older brother, the boat’s captain, died when becoming stuck under the boat, his mother said.
“Saturday, all the way to Tuesday, that kid was on top of that skiff. I mean, that’s one tough kid,” White said.
A GoFundMe set up to support Aghnaanga’s family and cover funeral expenses has already almost reached its $40,000 target.
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