A 13-year-old boy survived a boating accident that killed his father and several other family members by taking refuge inside a cooler.
Juladi “Jude” Khammoungkhoune was crabbing with his relatives near Bodega Bay, off the central California coast, on the evening of November 2, when their boat capsized and they were thrown into the water.
The youngster, who was wearing a life jacket, was ordered to crawl inside a cooler by his father, Prasong.
The man hung on to the box but later let go so that his son could get to safety more quickly, the teenager has revealed.
“It was pretty terrifying to see my dad go too soon,” Jude told KGO, adding: “I was crying and yelling out for my dad, so I could hear him say something again.”
Arriving on shore in the pitch darkness, Khammoungkhoune slept on the beach where he was found by first responders the following morning and taken to hospital.
“I prayed to Jesus Christ and all of my family members that I can make it out alive and get to see my family and everybody that I know,” Khammoungkhoune told KGO.
He later learned that he was the sole survivor.
Hours after the boy was found, searchers found the body of Jude’s 17-year-old cousin Johnny Phommathep II in the water, according to US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Levi Read.
The five family members and a friend had set out on their trip from Bodega Bay at around 3pm that day – the first day of the recreational Dungeness crab season.
The group from Corning, a city about 170 miles north of San Francisco, was fishing for crab and was expected to return to shore by 7pm, Read said. When they didn’t show up, a family member contacted the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which in turn contacted the Coast Guard.
The search effort involving crews from eight local, state and federal agencies was suspended on Sunday evening but could resume if new information emerges that could help officials narrow the search, which covered more than 2,100 square miles, Read added.
“The decision to suspend a search is always difficult to make and never done lightly,” said US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Michael L. Zapawa, who also coordinated the search and rescue, said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the missing boaters during this incredibly difficult time.”
Since the ordeal, Jude has been recovering at home in San Jose surrounded by family.
“It was like a good dream because I actually wanted to see my family again,” he said.
“It’s a really good thing I’m back with my family because I’m happy to see my family, and every one of my family members are supporting me throughout this journey without my father... I at least get to live a longer life.”
A GoFundMe page, set up by two of his cousins to support him, his two siblings and his mother, has topped almost $55,000 as of Tuesday morning.
“Song filled his family’s life with joy, strength, and boundless love, bringing home his daily catch to share around the dinner table. It brings a small comfort to know he was taken doing what he loved most, but his absence leaves a vast emptiness,” it reads.
