A 15-year-old boy from Alaska endured more than 48 hours stranded on the upside-down hull of an 18-foot fishing skiff in the icy Bering Sea, surviving after his older brother and cousin were killed, according to relatives and rescue officials.
Rescue footage obtained by KTUU-TV shows the teenager sitting by himself on the exposed bottom of the overturned boat as the fishing vessel Northwest Explorer moved in to reach him.
Once the crew pulled him to safety, captain Adam White said the teen, his teeth chattering from the cold, was still able to recount the ordeal. He told rescuers his brother remained trapped beneath the skiff and that his cousin had fallen from the hull the night before.
White said his crew focused on keeping the boy alert and talking while they worked to warm him up and transport him toward Nome for help.
The Coast Guard first located the teen at around 10:30 a.m. Monday, about four miles east of St. Lawrence Island, where he was showing signs of hypothermia after days in the harsh conditions.
After dropping a life raft and emergency survival gear to the stranded teen, the Coast Guard directed a nearby fishing vessel to the scene.
Before the aircraft was forced to depart for refueling, the crew placed a trail of flares on the water, creating a guide path for the Northwest Explorer to find the capsized skiff.
The teenager had left Savoonga on Friday with his 35-year-old brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, and their 34-year-old cousin, Barton Rookok, for what was supposed to be a halibut fishing trip.
The group was expected to return around 3 a.m. Sunday, but the boat never made it back.
Family spokesperson Darren Toolie-Noongwook told KTUU that the accident began when a fishing line got tangled in the motor, causing the small skiff to overturn.
According to the family’s account, Kulowiyi then became ensnared in the line and was dragged underneath the boat.
Toolie-Noongwook said the teenager and Rookok managed to climb onto the overturned hull and spent the first night there together.
During the following night, he said, Rookok became distressed, entered the water and drowned, leaving the boy alone on the skiff.
Captain Adam White of the Northwest Explorer said the teen later told him that his brother was still beneath the boat and that his cousin had slipped away during the previous night.
The Coast Guard has not publicly determined what caused the skiff to capsize.
The family said the teenager survived without food or drinking water as waves struck the overturned hull and spent part of the nights kneeling and praying.
Exactly how long he remained there is unclear.
Toolie-Noongwook said the boat flipped at about 8:03 p.m. Friday, which would mean the boy spent more than 62 hours on the overturned vessel before the Coast Guard spotted him Monday morning.
But an aunt separately told the Associated Press that she had been told the boat capsized Saturday night.
The Coast Guard has not released an official time for the capsize.
Rescuers also gave varying estimates of the water temperature, ranging from about 40 to 50 degrees.
