“It is nothing short of a miracle,” said those who found him in the open sea and rescued him. After clinging to the capsized hull of his fishing boat for almost three days in the icy waters of the Bering Sea, a 15-year-old boy was found alive on Monday 7 September off the coast of Alaska (United States). The young man, who showed symptoms of hypothermia, was rescued by the crew of a fishing boat. His two companions, his 35-year-old brother and his cousin, died following the shipwreck.
The tragedy occurred on Friday 4 September off the coast of Saint-Laurent, a small island in the western part of Alaska, about a hundred kilometers from the American continent and a few tens of kilometers from Russia.
The group had left the village of Savoonga on the same day aboard a 5.5 meter long boat, intending to return on Sunday morning. Having not returned to land, their disappearance was reported to the authorities on Sunday evening. However, adverse weather conditions and poor visibility prevented air rescue teams from starting the search before Monday morning. A US Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft finally spotted the capsized vessel, about 6.5 kilometers from the island.
Alone on the hull
The boy was alone on the hull. The crew threw him a raft and some survival supplies before coordinating his rescue with the Northwest Explorer, a vessel that was nearby. Once reached, the 15-year-old was then hoisted on board with the help of a rescue stretcher.
He had signs of hypothermia and was warmed before being transported to Nome, on the American mainland, together with the bodies of the two victims. “It’s nothing short of a miracle,” said Lieutenant Commander Jonathon Resch, the Coast Guard pilot who spotted the boy.