For nearly two days, a 15-year-old boy held on to the hull of a capsized fishing vessel in the frigid waters off Alaska before a Coast Guard aircrew spotted him Monday afternoon.
Two others on the vessel did not survive. KTUU in Anchorage, Alaska, identified the victims as the 15-year-old survivor’s older brother and cousin.

The boat was last seen Friday at St. Lawrence Island, departing from the village of Savoonga. It was scheduled to return by approximately 3 a.m. Sunday. When it failed to arrive, the Coast Guard Arctic District launched a search that would stretch for days across the remote waters of the Bering Sea.
The break came Monday at approximately 3 p.m., when a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Kodiak located the overturned skiff about 4 miles east of St. Lawrence Island and found the teenager still holding on. The aircrew dropped a raft and survival equipment, then deployed a line of flares to guide a nearby good Samaritan vessel, the Northwest Explorer, to the scene.

Credit: Carlos Alexis Escartin
The Northwest Explorer pulled the teen from atop the overturned boat, showing symptoms of hypothermia. The two victims were recovered from the water and taken aboard the good Samaritan boat to Nome, Alaska, on the mainland.

“Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic loss of these two mariners,” said Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Arctic District. “We are grateful for the incredible efforts of the motor vessel Northwest Explorer, Federal, State, Village first responders and mission partners who assisted in the effort that resulted in a life saved.”
The Coast Guard has not released the names of those involved, and it was not immediately clear what caused the vessel to capsize.