Alaskan Family Grieves Two as 15-Year-Old Son Survives Three Days no Capsized Boat

For one Alaskan family, a routine halibut fishing trip turned into an unimaginable loss.

Derek Parker Aghnaanga, just 15 years old, had been out fishing with his older brother and cousin when their small skiff overturned near St. Lawrence Island and drifted into the Bering Sea on September 4.

He was the only one to survive, forced to watch as his brother and cousin died beside him.

His mother later shared that his older brother, the boat's captain, di£d after becoming trapped underneath the vessel, and the teenager held on for days afterwards without food or water.

A family member told Alaska's News Source that Aghnaanga clung to the boat as his brother, 35-year-old Sidney Kulowiyi, and cousin, Barton Rookok, 34, slipped off and drowned.

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 family hadn't returned home.

The fishing vessel Northwest Explorer, along with its crew of 13, was asked to help with the search.

"We saw the unusual object on the horizon. We blasted our horn a couple times," said Adam White, captain of the Northwest Explorer.

As the crew drew closer, dramatic rescue footage captured the moment it became clear a living person was still on top of the overturned vessel. "It's unbelievable. It's remarkable, and it's cold. The water is 10 degrees Celsius," White said, describing the rescue.

Once safely aboard, the exhausted and hypothermic teenager shared what had happened to his brother and cousin in the days before rescuers arrived. "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," White told Alaska's News Source.

Crew members wrapped the teenager in blankets and kept him talking as the vessel made its way toward Nome, where his family was waiting to be reunited with him.

Reflecting on what the boy had endured, White said, "Saturday, all the way to Tuesday, that kid was on top of that skiff. I mean, that's one tough kid."