A 15-year-old boy was rescued after clinging to a capsized boat in Alaska's Bering Sea for nearly three days, the US Coast Guard said. His brother and a cousin died after the small boat flipped, according to rescuers.
Rescue near St Lawrence Island
The teenager's brother and cousin died at some point after their small craft overturned, rescuers said. 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.
The captain of the fishing vessel, The Northwest Explorer, believed the boy had been gripping onto the skiff for nearly three days. "That's one tough kid," Adam White told KTUU-TV in Anchorage.
Search operation launched
Coast Guard aircraft and helicopters launched a search operation on Monday morning after relatives reported the trio missing the previous evening. Officials didn't reveal the identities of those involved.
The group departed St Lawrence Island on Friday with plans to return early Sunday, the Coast Guard stated. The Coast Guard reported that one of its air crews located the boy on Monday morning, dropping a raft and provisions before alerting The Northwest Explorer.
Hypothermia and recovery
Footage of the rescue captures the youngster in a luminous yellow jacket crouched atop the upturned skiff. The vessel's crew throws him a rope, drawing the boat nearer until they can haul him into a rescue basket.
The boy was displaying signs of hypothermia upon boarding the vessel, the Coast Guard confirmed. The fishing boat crew warmed him using blankets and hot packs, its captain revealed. "Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff," White said. "And then he said that, in the previous night, before our rescue, that his cousin had slipped away."
