Captain's four-word take on boy, 15, found clinging to upturned boat in freezing sea for days

Captain's four-word take on boy, 15, found clinging to upturned boat in freezing sea for days A 15-year-old boy survived for days clinging to an overturned boar in Alaska's freezing Bering Sea after a fishing trip with his brother and cousin ended in tragedy A fishing boat captain has described his reaction after a teenage boy was found alive on an overturned boat following days in freezing waters. Captain Adam White and the crew of the Northwest Explorer helped bring 15-year-old Derek Parker Aghnaanga to safety after he was spotted stranded in Alaska’s Bering Sea. The youngster had been clinging to the upturned skiff after setting out on a fishing trip with his older brother and cousin, who both died following the tragedy. The trio had left Savoonga, a small village on St Lawrence Island, on Friday morning to catch halibut and were expected back early on Sunday. But their boat capsized on Saturday night far out at sea, Derek’s aunt Collen Walker was later told, leaving the teenager battling to survive in waters of around 10C. When they failed to return, relatives raised the alarm and US Coast Guard planes and helicopters launched a search on Monday morning. One air crew spotted Derek at around 10.30am and dropped a raft and supplies before contacting the Northwest Explorer. Footage of the dramatic rescue showed Derek in a luminous yellow jacket crouched on top of the overturned boat as the crew threw him a rope, pulled the skiff closer and hauled him aboard in a rescue basket. Captain White believed the teenager had been holding on for nearly three days before his crew reached him. Speaking after the rescue, he said: “That’s one tough kid.” Derek was showing signs of hypothermia when he was brought aboard, with the crew using blankets and hot packs to warm him. Captain White added: “Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff. And then he said that, in the previous night, before our rescue, that his cousin had slipped away.” Their bodies were recovered after the youngster was winched to safety near St Lawrence Island - an isolated Alaskan outpost that lies nearer to Russia than mainland America. Derek said his cousin had also managed to cling to the overturned boat before dying prior to rescuers reaching them. His mum Vina Kulowiyi listened to radio transmissions of the rescue as other relatives huddled around a speakerphone. His aunt added: “We all cried and jumped for joy when the captain announced on the radio, ‘We found a kid, he’s alive, he’s alive,’” “Then we asked, ‘Where’s the rest of them?’” Following the rescue, Vina shared her relief in a Facebook post. She wrote: “My survivor. His story is amazing. He was never afraid the whole time. He knew he would be OK knowing his big brother was under the boat. “He lived on prayer with no food and water. Love you son.”