Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, a 24-year-old US YouTuber, was arrested for entering Andaman’s North Sentinel Island, home to the world’s most isolated tribe. No one visits the island because of the presence of the Sentinelese tribe, known to respond violently and aggressively to outsiders.
Before Mr Polykov, the last person known to have entered the island was an American Christian missionary in 2018. John Allen Chau, 27 at the time, was killed by the tribe. They used bows and arrows to kill Mr Chau after he entered their island.
The Sentinelese tribe is extremely protective of their island and has no contact with the outside world — they consider any outsider a threat.
Denis Giles, an activist for the rights of tribal groups, said Mr Chau had been planning to reach the North Sentinel Island for a while. He bribed the local fishermen to ferry him to the indigenous island, reported The Guardian.
The fishermen took him near the island in a small boat, a dinghy, and Mr Chau used a kayak to cover the rest of the distance and somehow managed to land on the island.
Mr Giles said that the fishermen who helped Mr Chau get close to the island saw one of the tribe members shoot an arrow at Mr Chau as soon as he came close to them. Later, they said the tribes dragged his body into the forested part of the island and buried it.
Another similar incident took place in 2006, when two Indian fishermen tied their boat near the North Sentinel Island and went to sleep. According to Survival International, their boat’s vessel broke and it drifted to the island’s shore.
Upon reaching the island, the Sentinelese tribe attacked and killed the fishermen. When a helicopter was sent to recover the bodies, the tribe shot arrows at it as well, reports said.
More recently, after months of planning, Mr Polyakov reached the shore of the island in the hope of spotting the indigenous tribe. He tried various ways to gain their attention, including blowing a whistle, but no one appeared.
After waiting for an hour, he kept the Diet Coke can and coconut on the beach, recorded a video, and left the place.
