‘One tough kid’: Boy, 15, found clinging to capsized boat off Alaska after surviving for days at sea

Footage shows the moment a 15-year-old boy was pulled to safety after surviving on top of an overturned boat in Alaska’s Bering Sea for around two days.

Derek Parker Aghnaanga was fishing with his brother and cousin when their boat capsized. Derek’s brother, Sidney Kulowiy, 35, died in the accident while his cousin ‘slipped away’ during the night as they waited to be rescued.

Incredibly, the teen survived on top of the overturned boat amid freezing temperatures before he was spotted by a US Coast Guard helicopter.
It then directed the nearby fishing boat Northwest Explorer to make the rescue.

Speaking to KTUU-TV in Anchorage, captain Adam White of the Northwest Explorer said: ‘That’s one tough kid. Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff.’

The skiff is believed to have capsized on Saturday night after the party left their hometown of Savoonga, St Lawrence Island, to fish for halibut. Their family raised the alarm when they had not returned by the early hours of Sunday morning.

Derek’s mother, Vina Kulowiyi, was listening to a radio transmission of the rescue with family members.

She said: ‘We all cried and jumped for joy when the captain announced on the radio, “We found a kid, he’s alive, he’s alive”. Then we asked, “Where’s the rest of them?’”

She said Derek often went fishing with brother Sidney, who he saw as a father figure after their dad died. She said the family did not want to disclose the name of their cousin who died.

She wrote in a Facebook post: ‘My survivor. His story is amazing. He was never afraid the whole time.

‘He knew he would be OK knowing his big brother was under the boat.

‘He lived on prayer with no food and water. Love you son.’