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

Fifteen-year-old Derek Parker Aghnaanga was the only survivor after a fishing skiff capsized in Alaska’s freezing Bering Sea. What he told rescuers after being pulled from the water revealed the devastating final hours of the two men who had been with him.

For more than two days, 15-year-old Derek Parker Aghnaanga clung to the overturned hull of a small fishing boat in the freezing waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea.

He had no food.

He had no water.

And he had no idea if anyone would find him.

But when rescuers finally reached him, the teenager was alive — and immediately began telling them what had happened to the two family members who had gone into the water with him.

His brother was still beneath the overturned skiff.

And his cousin had disappeared into the dark ocean the night before.

THE TRIP THAT NEVER ENDED

Derek had left the village of Savoonga, on St. Lawrence Island, on September 4 with his 35-year-old older brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, and their cousin.

They were heading out to fish for halibut aboard an 18-foot skiff.

The group was expected back early Sunday morning.

But they never returned.

When the boat failed to appear, authorities were alerted and a search operation was launched.

Bad weather, darkness and dense fog made the initial search extremely difficult.

Then, on Monday morning, a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft spotted something unusual on the surface of the Bering Sea.

It was the overturned fishing boat.

And there was someone on top of it.

“HE’S ALIVE”

At around 10:30 a.m., rescuers spotted Derek clinging to the capsized skiff roughly four miles from St. Lawrence Island.

The Coast Guard contacted the nearby Northwest Explorer, whose crew raced toward the location.

Captain Adam White later described the moment his crew realized there was a survivor.

They sounded the ship’s horn repeatedly as they approached.

Eventually, they could clearly see Derek — wearing a bright yellow jacket and kneeling on the exposed hull of the overturned boat.

The crew threw him a line and pulled him aboard.

Derek was suffering from hypothermia after spending hours in water around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10°C).

The 13-member crew wrapped him in warm towels and blankets and kept him talking as they began the journey toward Nome.

For Derek’s family, the rescue brought an overwhelming moment of relief.

His mother had been listening to radio communications during the rescue.

When the captain announced that they had found a child alive, the family celebrated.

But then came the devastating question:

Where were the other two?

THE REVELATION THAT LEFT RESCUERS STUNNED

Derek’s condition made it difficult for him to speak clearly.

But Captain White said the teenager eventually explained what had happened.

Through his chattering teeth, Derek told rescuers that his brother was still beneath the overturned skiff.

He then explained that his cousin had managed to remain on the boat for a time — before slipping away into the ocean during the previous night.

By the time rescuers arrived, neither man had survived.

The bodies of Derek’s brother and cousin were later recovered.

ALONE THROUGH THE NIGHT

The teenager had remained on the overturned boat without food or water while darkness repeatedly fell around him.

The temperature of the surrounding water was only about 50°F.

The cold alone presented an enormous danger.

Yet Derek stayed on the hull.

According to accounts from his family, he relied on his knowledge of how to survive in the cold and continued holding on through the long nights.

His mother later described him as a survivor who endured the ordeal through prayer.

Captain White was equally stunned by the teenager’s resilience.

“That’s one tough kid,” White said after the rescue.

A RESCUE THAT SEEMED ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE

The Northwest Explorer had been conducting work in the region when its crew was asked to assist with the rescue.

The vessel was still roughly 39 miles away when the crew was directed toward Derek’s location.

Coast Guard aircraft dropped flares to guide the fishing vessel through the remote waters.

The journey toward the overturned skiff took hours.

For Captain White, it was a race against time.

When they finally arrived, Derek was too weak to swim toward a rescue raft.

Instead, the crew used a rope to pull him directly aboard.

He was alive.

But he had lost his brother and cousin.

A FAMILY NOW FACES TWO REALITIES

Derek was eventually transported to Nome, where he was reunited with his family.

The relief of seeing him alive was accompanied by grief over the two men who never returned home.

His brother Sidney was remembered by relatives as a humble and loving provider in the Savoonga community.

Fishing is deeply connected to life in the remote village, where families depend on the sea for both food and tradition.

What began as a routine fishing trip ended with one teenager becoming the sole survivor of a tragedy at sea.

“HE LIVED ON PRAYER”

Derek’s ordeal lasted roughly 62 hours.

For nearly three days, he remained exposed to the elements on an overturned boat in one of the world’s harshest marine environments.

He watched the people who had gone fishing with him disappear.

He waited through the darkness.

And he kept holding on.

Eventually, someone saw him.

A Coast Guard aircraft spotted the tiny overturned skiff.

A fishing crew came for him.

And after more than two days alone at sea, Derek was finally brought to safety.

He survived.

But the first thing he had to do after being rescued was tell his rescuers what had happened to the people he loved.

For his family, the rescue was both a miracle and a heartbreaking reminder of what the teenager had endured.

He came home alive — but he came home carrying a story no 15-year-old should ever have