CNN – An American tourist has been arrested after allegedly traveling to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal and attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated tribes.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made the illegal voyage to North Sentinel Island, home to the enigmatic Sentinelese tribe, on March 29, Indian police told CNN.
North Sentinel Island is a land mass roughly the size of Manhattan in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, about 750 miles from the Indian mainland. Visiting the island is prohibited by Indian law to maintain the Sentinelese way of life and protect them from modern illnesses, from which they lack immunity.
While Polyakov successfully reached the island, he does not appear to have made contact with the tribe.
He was spotted by a local fisherman on his way back and arrested two days later, Meena said. Police seized an inflatable boat and motor from Polyakov.
The Sentinelese have only made contact with the modern world a handful of times and have been known to vigorously reject outsiders. Because the Sentinelese are so reclusive, it is difficult to know how many there are – estimates range from dozens to hundreds.
Previous encounters with the tribe have proved fatal. In 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau was reportedly killed by tribespeople after he arrived on North Sentinel Island, hoping to convert the local people to Christianity.
Polyakov is “lucky he did not make contact otherwise he would have met the same fate,” Meena said.
Caroline Pearce, Director of Survival International, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection of isolated tribal groups, called Polyakov’s alleged actions “reckless and idiotic.”
“It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out” …
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