A snowmachine carrying two juveniles on the Kuskokwim River drove into an open hole Saturday, resulting in the death of a 15-year-old, Alaska State Troopers said Sunday.
Troopers said in an online update that they were notified of the incident, which happened about 8 miles upriver from Kalskag, just after 6 p.m. Saturday. One boy was able to get out of the river to safety but Cole Gilila, 15, “disappeared under the ice,” troopers said.
Volunteers with search and rescue came from Kalskag and Aniak to help find Gilila, and searchers recovered his body from the river around 8 p.m., according to troopers.
A truck driving on the ice road took the other snowmachine rider to the clinic in Kalskag, and the boy was reportedly in cold but uninjured condition, troopers said.
Gilila’s remains were being taken to Aniak, then on to the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy, according to troopers, who also said Gilila’s next of kin had been notified.