1 Dead, 3 Missing After Boat Flips in Bering Sea

One man died and a man and two children were missing Wednesday after their whaling boat capsized off St. Lawrence Island in the frigid Bering Sea.

Six people were onboard the 16-foot boat, which was made of animal skins. The boat was part of group of boats hunting whales from the Yup’ik Eskimo community of Gambell, Alaska state troopers said.

The missing are the village mayor, Jason Nowpakahok, 38; his daughter, Yolanda Nowpakahok, 11; and his nephew, Leonard Nowpakahok, 11. Troopers identified the dead man as James Uglowook, 20.

“This has devastated the whole village,” said Linda Tungiyan, the city clerk in the community of 650 people. “The whole village is like one big family. Everybody knows each other. We all feel for each other.”

She said involving children in whaling hunts was not unusual. It’s how young people learn to carry out a tradition, she said.

Ten villages are authorized to hunt whales for traditional subsistence use. Crews have targeted bowhead whales migrating through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.