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Alaska Teen Survives Nearly 3 Days on Overturned Boat in Bering Sea
ReAlaska Teen Survives Nearly 3 Days on Overturned Boat in Bering Sea
A 15-year-old Alaska boy was rescued Monday after surviving nearly three days atop an overturned fishing boat in the frigid Bering Sea, while his brother and cousin perished. The Coast Guard, Alaska Air National Guard, and local authorities coordinated the search.
A 15-year-old Alaska boy was found alive Monday atop an overturned fishing boat in the Bering Sea, nearly three days after the vessel went missing, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The teen was the sole survivor after the other two people aboard — his 16-year-old brother and their 39-year-old cousin — died. The rescue was announced Wednesday.
The boy was discovered about 4 miles east of St. Lawrence Island, a remote outpost roughly 100 miles west of mainland Alaska and about 40 miles from Russia's Chukchi Peninsula. He was experiencing symptoms of hypothermia and his teeth were chattering when found, but he was conscious and able to be pulled to safety. The fishing vessel Northwest Explorer, which was in the area, recovered the teen after Coast Guard aircrews dropped a life raft and coordinated the operation. Video of the rescue shows the boy in a bright yellow jacket kneeling on the overturned skiff as the crew tossed him a line and pulled him into a rescue basket.
The fishing vessel had departed Savoonga for St. Lawrence Island on Friday and was last seen that day. It missed its scheduled return early Sunday morning, prompting a multi-agency search that involved the Coast Guard, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, the Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, and local authorities. Multiple planes and helicopters were deployed. Lt. Cmdr. Jonathon Resch, the Coast Guard pilot who spotted the teen, told ABC News that he and his team were «elated» to find him. «People don't survive those scenarios,» Resch said. «People don't flip boats and survive nights.» He added that he «just happen[ed] to be looking out the window at the right angle of sun» when he saw the teen's raft.
Rear Adm. Bob Little, commander of the Coast Guard Arctic District, called the loss of the two mariners «tragic» and expressed gratitude for the efforts of the Northwest Explorer and all federal, state, village first responders and mission partners who assisted. «We are grateful for the incredible efforts of the motor vessel Northwest Explorer, [plus] federal, state, village first responders and mission partners who assisted in the effort that resulted in a life saved,» Little said in a statement. The bodies of the two deceased family members were recovered.
The boy's mother was listening to a radio transmission of the rescue Monday while other family members huddled around a speakerphone, one of them told The Associated Press. «We all cried and jumped for joy when the captain announced on the radio, ‘We found a kid, he's alive, he's alive,’» the family member said. «Then we asked, ‘Where's the rest of them?’» The teen was taken for medical evaluation. The Coast Guard has not released further details about the cause of the incident or the condition of the survivor.
The Bering Sea is known for its treacherous conditions, with frigid waters and rapidly changing weather. Survival times in such temperatures are typically measured in minutes, making the teen's nearly three-day ordeal highly unusual. The Coast Guard continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the vessel's capsizing. The rescue serves as a reminder of the dangers faced by mariners in Alaskan waters and the coordinated efforts required to respond to emergencies in remote regions.
