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A US tourist has been arrested after giving a can of Coke to the world’s most isolated tribe on a forbidden island.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, risked his life by journeying to North Sentinel Island – where unwanted visitors are often killed.
Polyakov, 24, sailed to the island to on Saturday, according to Indian police.
He set off on the risky expedition from Kurma Dera beach, on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an Indian territory in the Bay of Bengal.
From there he boarded his makeshift craft – an inflatable boat with a motor and GPS.
Upon arriving at the island, Polyakov scanned the area from his boat using binoculars.
He then blew a whistle repeatedly for about an hour in a crazed attempt to attract attention, but no one responded.
Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Polyakov briefly stepped onto the island and left a can of Coke and a coconut as offerings.
He also collected sand samples and recorded a video before leaving.
Polyakov was later arrested on his return to the mainland after local fisherman alerted cops.
Police said Polyakov had previously attempted illegal interactions with other indigenous tribes in the area.
It is thought that he travelled to Baratang island in January and illegally filmed members of the Jarawa tribe.
Polyakov now has a case against him for breach of protection of aboriginal tribes.
The last visitor to the island was John Allen Chau, a Christian missionary.
The 26-year-old was killed in a hail of arrows after venturing onto the remote island unannounced.
Chau visited the isle after reportedly feeling called by God to share his beliefs with the tribe.
Efforts to recover John’s body were abandoned over fears of further antagonising the remote Sentinelese.
Two fishermen who strayed on to the island in 2006 were also killed – and one week after their deaths, their bodies were hooked on bamboo stakes facing out to sea.
What happened to the last person to visit the island?
- John Allen Chau was the last person to visit North Sentinel Island in 2018.
- Chau was killed by the Sentinelese tribe on his visit.
- Chau was an American missionary who felt it was his “calling” to preach to the tribe.
- Chau was illegally ferried to the island by fishermen.
- While a murder case was registered, the killers couldn’t be prosecuted as contact with the island is forbidden.
- Efforts to recover his body were abandoned over fears of further antagonising the tribe.
- A journal belonging him was found by police after his death where he wrote about his desire to spread God’s word.
Contacting isolated tribes can be extremely dangerous due to their lack of immunity to common diseases in the outside world.
And it could even risk leading to devastating epidemics by transmitting a new kind of bug from them to the rest of the planet.
The director of indigenous rights group Survival International, Caroline Pearce, said the American’s attempt to make contact with the tribe was “deeply disturbing”.
Pearce said: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic.
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.
“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.”
North Sentinel Island has been off limits since 1996, and it is illegal to come within three miles of it.
Anthropologists estimate that there could be anywhere between 50 to 100 people who live there.
Not much is known about the people who live on the island, other than their violence and unwillingness to communicate with outsiders.
The tribe carries bows and arrows, as well as spears and knives.
They do not welcome unwanted visitors and will kill them if they get too close.
Only a small group of people have ever been on the island and lived to tell the tale.
