HE SURVIVED 62 HOURS CLINGING TO AN OVERTURNED BOAT — THEN RESCUERS LEARNED WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS BROTHER AND COUSIN

A 15-year-old Alaska boy endured darkness, freezing water and unimaginable loss before rescuers finally spotted him kneeling on the overturned skiff.

For nearly two and a half days, Derek Parker Aghnaanga had only one thing keeping him alive: an overturned fishing boat floating in the freezing waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea.

The 15-year-old had gone fishing near St. Lawrence Island with his older brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, 35, and his cousin, Barton Rookok, 34.

But the fishing trip quickly turned into a desperate fight for survival.

When the skiff capsized, Derek managed to stay on top of the overturned vessel.

His brother did not.

His cousin would later disappear into the water.

And Derek was left alone.

THE BOAT THAT NEVER CAME HOME

The three had left from the remote community of Savoonga to fish for halibut.

They were expected back, but when they failed to return, authorities were alerted and a search operation began.

Bad weather and dense fog complicated the early search.

Meanwhile, Derek remained stranded on the overturned skiff.

He had no food or water.

The water around him was roughly 50 degrees Fahrenheit — about 10 degrees Celsius.

Night fell.

Then another day came.

Still, the teenager held on.

“MY BROTHER WAS STILL UNDER THE SKIFF”

When rescuers finally reached Derek, he was able to tell them what had happened.

His older brother, Sidney, had become trapped beneath the overturned boat.

Derek also told rescuers that his cousin had initially managed to hold onto the skiff but slipped into the water the night before the rescue.

Both men later died, leaving Derek as the sole survivor.

Captain Adam White of the fishing vessel Northwest Explorer later described the teenager as remarkably tough.

“That’s one tough kid.”

White said Derek was suffering from symptoms of hypothermia when the crew reached him.

THE MOMENT THEY REALIZED SOMEONE WAS ALIVE

The U.S. Coast Guard spotted the overturned skiff during the search.

At first, it was simply an unusual object on the horizon.

Then rescuers realized there was a person on top of it.

Derek was wearing a bright yellow jacket and was seen kneeling on the overturned vessel.

The Northwest Explorer was directed toward the scene.

The fishing vessel and its crew eventually reached the teenager and pulled him aboard.

Crew members immediately wrapped him in blankets and used hot packs to help warm him.

He was later taken to Nome to reunite with his family and receive medical care.

“HE’S ALIVE”

Back in Savoonga, Derek’s relatives were listening to radio transmissions as the search unfolded.

His aunt, Collen Walker, described the moment the family heard that rescuers had found him.

“We all cried and jumped for joy,” Walker told the Associated Press, recalling the radio announcement that a boy had been found alive.

But the celebration was mixed with devastating grief.

Derek had survived.

His brother had not.

A BROTHER WHO WAS LIKE A FATHER

For Derek’s family, Sidney’s loss made the rescue even more emotional.

Walker said Derek frequently went fishing with his older brother and looked to him as a father figure after their own father died when the brothers were young.

Sidney was also a commercial fishing captain and was remembered by his family as someone who cared deeply for others.

In the small community of Savoonga, where fishing is an essential part of life, his death has left a family and community mourning.

ALIVE — BUT CARRYING A STORY NO TEENAGER SHOULD HAVE TO TELL

Derek survived conditions that could have become fatal within hours.

He endured cold water, darkness, exhaustion and uncertainty while clinging to an overturned boat far from home.

But survival came with an unbearable cost.

He returned to his family alive while carrying memories of losing the two men who had gone fishing with him.

His rescue has been described as remarkable by those involved.

For Derek, however, it was more than a story of survival.

It was the story of holding on long enough to be found — while knowing that the people beside him would never make it home.

And when rescuers finally reached that overturned skiff, they did not just find a teenager who had survived.

They found a boy who had somehow refused to let go.