Teenage Fisherman Survives for Days on Upturned Skiff in Bering Sea
Last weekend, a teenage fisherman survived atop the hull of a capsized skiff in frigid Bering Sea waters for days while awaiting rescue. Two of his relatives had also been aboard, but died before the U.S. Coast Guard and a Good Samaritan vessel could reach them.
The skiff departed the Alaska Native village of Savoonga late Friday for an extended trip to fish for halibut, part of the pattern of life for the subsistence economy of remote St. Lawrence Island. Three relatives were aboard, two brothers and one cousin. The vessel was supposed to return Sunday morning, but missed its window, and the Alaska State Troopers received a call that it had gone missing at about 1430 hours on Sunday afternoon. The alert was passed to the Coast Guard, but weather prevented the launch of an immediate search.
On Monday morning, once conditions allowed, a large scale operation got under way supported by the USCG and the U.S. Air Froce. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules search aircraft out of Air Station Kodiak got under way for the 700-mile flight to St. Lawrence Island, a remote Bering Sea outpost that is closer to Russia than to mainland Alaska. At about 1030 hours, the HC-130J aircrew spotted the upturned skiff at a position about four miles to the east of the island. They dropped a life raft and survival gear and called in the skiff's location to a nearby Good Samaritan vessel, the 160-foot fishing / survey vessel Northwest Explorer.
The vessel's captain told Anchorage Daily News that it took four more hours of transit time to reach the skiff. The Coast Guard SAR plane was running low on fuel and had to depart, but it dropped flares to guide in Northwest Explorer before leaving the scene. On arrival, the crew of the fishing vessel found one survivor on the upturned hull, a 15-year-old boy.
The crew used a crane and a rescue cradle to bring him aboard. He had symptoms of hypothermia, but was otherwise unharmed physically. His brother's remains were underneath the skiff; his cousin had survived the capsizing, but had slipped off the upturned hull and perished before rescuers arrived, the captain told ADN. Both of the bodies were retrieved for return to shore.
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“Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic loss of these two mariners," said Rear Adm. Bob Little, the commander of the Arctic District. “We are grateful for the incredible efforts of the motor vessel Northwest Explorer, Federal, State, Village first responders and mission partners who assisted in the effort that resulted in a life saved.”
Three other Coast Guard aircraft and one Air Force pararescue HC-130 also supported the operation at various points, the USCG said. Local volunteers and Alaska State Troopers contributed to a shoreside search.
