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

15-YEAR-OLD DEREK PARKER AGHNAANGA ENDURED DAYS IN THE FREEZING BERING SEA BEFORE RESCUERS FINALLY FOUND HIM — ALONE, EXHAUSTED AND STILL CLINGING TO THE CAPSIZED SKIFF

For nearly three days, 15-year-old Derek Parker Aghnaanga was left fighting to stay alive in the freezing waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea.

He had set out on a halibut fishing trip with his older brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, 35, and their cousin, Barton Rookok, 34.

But after their small fishing skiff overturned near St. Lawrence Island, the teenager’s fight for survival became a devastating race against time.

A FISHING TRIP THAT TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE

Derek and his relatives left the remote community of Savoonga for a fishing trip on September 4.

They were expected to return early Sunday morning.

When they failed to come home, a search operation was launched.

The U.S. Coast Guard eventually located the overturned skiff on September 7, roughly four miles east of St. Lawrence Island.

Derek was still alive.

He had spent more than two days clinging to the overturned vessel in water temperatures of around 50°F (10°C).

HE WAS NOT ALONE WHEN THE BOAT FLIPPED

The teenager later told rescuers that his brother remained beneath the overturned skiff.

His cousin, meanwhile, had managed to stay on the boat with him for a time before slipping away during the night.

Both men ultimately died.

Their bodies were later recovered.

For Derek, the ordeal meant continuing to hold on even after the two people who had been beside him were gone.

“THAT’S ONE TOUGH KID”

When the fishing vessel Northwest Explorer reached Derek, he was suffering from hypothermia.

Rescuers wrapped him in blankets and used hot packs to warm him.

Captain Adam White later described the teenager’s endurance in remarkable terms.

He said Derek had remained on the overturned skiff through darkness and extremely cold conditions.

Rescue footage showed the teenager kneeling on the hull as crew members pulled the vessel closer before bringing him aboard.

HIS MOTHER HEARD THE RESCUE OVER THE RADIO

Back on shore, Derek’s family waited anxiously for news.

His mother, Vina Kulowiyi, was listening to the radio transmission when the rescue was announced.

Family members reportedly gathered around a speakerphone as they learned that a child had been found alive.

The relief was overwhelming.

But it was immediately followed by the painful realization that the other two members of the fishing party had not survived.

Derek’s mother later said her son survived through prayer and described him as her “survivor.”

A COMMUNITY LEFT MOURNING

Sidney Kulowiyi was more than Derek’s older brother.

Family members described him as a loving and humble provider in the Savoonga community and said Derek had looked up to him as a father figure after their own father died.

The loss has therefore devastated a community already deeply connected to the sea and fishing.

At the same time, Derek’s survival has been described as extraordinary by rescuers and family members.

A SURVIVOR — BUT WITH A HEARTBREAKING STORY

Derek survived one of the most terrifying situations imaginable: alone on an overturned boat, surrounded by freezing water, without food or water, waiting for someone to find him.

But his rescue did not bring a simple happy ending.

He returned home alive while carrying the devastating knowledge that his brother and cousin did not.

Now, as Derek recovers from the ordeal, his family and community are left mourning two lives lost at sea — while also giving thanks that the youngest member of the group made it home.

His survival may have been miraculous.

But the story of how he endured those 62 hours is one he and his family will carry for the rest of their lives.