A 15-year-old boy clung to a capsized skiff for nearly three days in Alaska's frigid Bering Sea before he was rescued by a fishing vessel this week, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. The boy's brother and cousin, who were also on the small boat, died sometime after it overturned.
Rescuers found the bodies of the brother and cousin after the teen was brought to safety near St. Lawrence Island, a remote Alaskan island situated closer to Russia than the United States. The captain of the fishing boat, The Northwest Explorer, stated the rescued youth had held onto the skiff for close to three days.
The U.S. Coast Guard initiated searches for the skiff on Monday morning after family members reported the three missing the previous night. The group had departed from St. Lawrence Island on Friday with plans to return early Sunday. Coast Guard aircrews located the boy Monday morning and deployed a raft and supplies before alerting The Northwest Explorer.
Video footage of the rescue shows the boy, wearing a bright yellow jacket, kneeling on the overturned skiff. The fishing boat's crew maneuvered the skiff closer with a line before pulling the boy into a rescue basket. Upon boarding The Northwest Explorer, the teen exhibited symptoms of hypothermia. The fishing boat crew provided him with blankets and hot packs.
The rescued boy indicated that his brother remained under the skiff, and his cousin had passed away the night before their rescue, according to the fishing boat captain.