Teen survives 2 days atop overturned boat in freezing Alaska waters, rescue video surfaces
A 15-year-old boy was rescued after spending nearly two days clinging to an overturned fishing boat in Alaska’s freezing Bering Sea. His older brother and cousin died after the vessel capsized, while a dramatic video captured the teen’s rescue.
A 15-year-old boy, Derek Parker Aghnaanga, survived nearly two days in the freezing waters of Alaska's Bering Sea after a fishing boat overturned. The teenager clung to the overturned boat, spotted by a US Coast Guard aircraft and ultimately rescued with assistance from a nearby fishing vessel. The incident occurred near St. Lawrence Island, an isolated Alaskan island closer to Russia than the mainland US.
Aghnaanga's older brother and cousin also went missing after the accident, with their bodies later recovered. The rescue, captured on video, shows the teenager wearing a bright yellow jacket, kneeling on top of the overturned boat as rescuers approached. He was found to be suffering from hypothermia upon being brought aboard the rescue vessel.
The fishing community of Savoonga, where Aghnaanga and his family reside, is deeply connected to the sea; however, the tragedy has left the community mourning the loss of two family members.
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