15-year-old rescued after clinging to capsized boat for days in Alaska's Bering Sea

A 15-year-old boy was rescued after clinging to a capsized skiff for three days in Alaska's Bering Sea, the US Coast Guard reported. Tragically, his brother and a cousin perished following the boat's flip, their bodies discovered after the teen's safe return. The incident occurred near St Lawrence Island, a remote Alaskan island closer to Russia than the US.

The fishing vessel, The Northwest Explorer, informed rescuers that the young boy had held onto the skiff for nearly three days. Adam White, the captain, remarked on the boy's resilience, stating, "That's one tough kid." Coast Guard search efforts commenced on Monday following a family report of three missing individuals the previous night.

The Coast Guard did not disclose the names of the victims. The family had planned to return early Sunday, but their boat went awry. On Monday, a Coast Guard plane spotted the boy and deployed a raft and supplies before contacting the fishing vessel. Video footage of the rescue shows the boy in a yellow jacket kneeling on the overturned skiff, with his rescuers tossing him a line and pulling the skiff close enough to hoist him into a rescue basket.

The boy exhibited signs of hypothermia upon being brought aboard. The fishing boat crew provided warmth with blankets and hot packs. "Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff," White recounted. "And then he said that, in the previous night, before our rescue, that his cousin had slipped away."