Plunged into the bone-chilling 10°C waters of the Bering Sea, 15-year-old Derek Parker Aghnaanga spent three horrific days clinging to the slick hull of an overturned skiff—watching helplessly as his cousin slipped into the black depths and his older brother remained trapped beneath the floating tomb.
NOME, Alaska — In a display of sheer physical resilience and unimaginable psychological endurance, a 15-year-old Alaskan boy has been pulled alive from the freezing waters of the Bering Sea after surviving three days atop an overturned fishing skiff.
Derek Parker Aghnaanga was rescued on Monday morning near St. Lawrence Island after his skiff capsized during a halibut fishing trip on September 4, claiming the lives of his 35-year-old brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, and his 34-year-old cousin, Barton Rookok.
A Horrific Loss at Sea
What began as a routine subsistence fishing expedition turned into a nightmare when the small vessel suddenly flipped in open water, drifting miles off the coast into sub-polar conditions.
According to family members and rescue crews, the three fishermen were tossed into 10°C (50°F) waters with zero shelter, food, or fresh water. As the hours stretched into days, the teenager was forced to witness his family members perish one by one:
- Trapped Beneath the Hull: Sidney Kulowiyi, the boat’s captain and Derek’s older brother, died after becoming pinned underneath the capsized skiff during the initial rollover.
- Slipping Into the Depths: As hypothermia set in over the freezing nights, his cousin, Barton Rookok, lost his grip on the slick, upturned hull and slipped away into the ocean hours before help arrived.
- Seventy-Two Hours of Solitude: Derek held on alone from Saturday through Tuesday, fighting off severe hypothermia while clinging to the floating wreckage.
The Rescue of the ‘Northwest Explorer’
The alarm was first raised on Sunday night when Alaska State Troopers notified the U.S. Coast Guard that the fishing party was overdue. Responders quickly alerted nearby commercial and research vessels, including the Northwest Explorer, a fishing ship carrying a crew of 13 and onboard scientists.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. on Monday, crew members on the Northwest Explorer spotted a strange silhouette against the horizon.
“We saw the unusual object on the horizon. We blasted our horn a couple times,” recalled Captain Adam White. “Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff and then he said that in the night before our rescue, his cousin had slipped away off the top.”
Dramatic video footage recorded by the crew shows the vessel closing in on the overturned skiff, revealing the small figure of the teenager stranded atop the hull.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s remarkable, and it’s cold,” White added. “Saturday, all the way to Tuesday, that kid was on top of that skiff. I mean, that’s one tough kid.”
Reunion and Aftermath
Once hauled aboard, the severely hypothermic teenager was immediately wrapped in thermal blankets and provided continuous emergency care by the crew as the ship steamed toward Nome to reunite him with his grieving family.
As the small coastal community rallies around the teenager, a crowdfunding initiative launched to support the family and cover funeral expenses for Kulowiyi and Rookok has raised nearly $40,000.
While Derek Aghnaanga faces a long recovery from physical exposure and severe trauma, his survival stands as a miraculous, heartbreaking testament to human endurance in one of the most hostile marine environments on earth.
