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The 15-year-old Alaskan boy who was rescued after three days at sea has made a horrifying revelation about what happened.
Derek Parker Aghnaanga was pulled to safety after he was seen holding onto his capsized skiff near St. Lawrence Island.
The teen had set out from Savoonga with his 35-year-old brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, and their 34-year-old cousin, Barton Rookok, to fish for halibut.
The group left last Friday and was expected to return early Sunday, but they never made it home.
Alaska State Troopers were notified that the three were missing on Sunday night, and this led to a search involving Coast Guard aircraft and helicopters.
The Coast Guard eventually spotted Aghnaanga clinging to the boat at around 10:30AM on Monday and worked with the nearby Northwest Explorer to rescue him.
The fishing vessel, which was carrying a crew of 13 as well as scientists, headed toward the "unusual object" in the water.
"We saw the unusual object on the horizon. We blasted our horn a couple times," Northwest Explorer captain Adam White said, cited by Alaska’s News Source.
A video of the rescue shows the 15-year-old, who was donning a bright yellow jacket, on top of the overturned boat as the Northwest Explorer approaches.
Crew members threw the teenager a line and pulled the skiff closer before hauling him aboard in a rescue basket.
Once Aghnaanga was safely on the vessel, he revealed what had happened to his two relatives.
"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 off the top of the skiff," White said.
Aghnaanga's older brother, who had captained the small boat, was trapped beneath the overturned skiff and died, the teenager's mother said.
A family member also said Aghnaanga had watched as his cousin eventually slipped from the vessel and drowned.
The bodies of Kulowiyi and Rookok were later recovered after the teen was rescued near St. Lawrence Island, the remote Alaskan island located closer to Russia than the US mainland.
Aghnaanga was on the overturned boat for days without food or water.
His mother, Vina Kulowiyi, described her son as a "survivor" and wrote on Facebook that "he was never afraid the whole time".
"He lived on prayer with no food and water," she added.
Aghnaanga was showing symptoms of hypothermia after he was brought aboard the Northwest Explorer.
The crew wrapped him in blankets and used hot packs to keep him warm while keeping him talking as the vessel headed toward Nome, where he could reunite with his family.
"It’s unbelievable. It’s remarkable, and it’s cold. The water is 10 degrees Celsius," White said of the teenager's survival. "Saturday, all the way to Tuesday, that kid was on top of that skiff. I mean, that’s one tough kid."
A GoFundMe was launched to support Aghnaanga's family and help cover funeral expenses.
