&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Alaska teen rescued after 62 hours at sea 'sat and prayed' on overturned boat the whole time")
A 15-year-old boy in Alaska survived on an overturned boat for 62 hours after his brother and cousin drowned and died. He tried to hold onto their bodies for as long as he could. Derek Parker Aghnaanga said he sat in one position for four days and three nights, praying to be saved. It took the Coast Guard a long time to find him, but the teen ultimately returned home safe.
Derek had gone fishing with his older brother and cousin on September 4. But their small boat overturned near St. Lawrence Island and drifted into the Bering Sea. A family spokesman has said that the fishing line apparently got tangled in the motor, causing the boat to overturn. Alaska State Troopers notified the Coast Guard about the missing party on Sunday (September 6), who spotted the teen at around 10:30 am on September 7.
They contacted the crew of the Northwest Explorer, a fishing vessel, and asked them to help rescue the freezing boy. "4 days and 3 nights. He lived on prayer with no food and water. … He said he sat like this praying the whole time,” his mother, Vina Kulowiyi, said in a Facebook post. She said that he lost his brother, 35-year-old Sidney Kulowiyi, and cousin, 34-year-old Barton Rookok, in the tragedy.
While Sidney died after getting stuck under the boat after it capsized, Barton survived for a day but later let go after becoming distressed, the family told KTUU. Their bodies were rescued by the same fishing vessel that saved Derek.
Boy tried holding on to the bodies of his siblings
His aunt, Colleen Walker, has started a GoFundMe page to support the family. She shared there that Derek "tried to hang onto [his brother and cousin] as long as he could after they drowned." It has almost reached the $45,000 target for funeral expenses and to support the family.
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The family is devastated by the loss. But Vina has decided to honour her son by naming her grandson Sidney. In another social media post, she said that she has named a new grandchild after him. "I am proud to announce the birth of my grandson named after my oldest son," she wrote. The baby was born on September 7, the day Derek was rescued and has been named "Dale Sidney Scott Salleka Kulowiyi Jr., who will never meet his namesake uncle," she wrote.
