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AN ISLAND in the Indian Ocean is home to the world’s most isolated tribe who cut themselves off from the rest of the world decades ago.
But North Sentinel Island has a dark past, with unwanted visitors brutally killed by the tribe.
Not much is known about the tribe, other than their violence and unwillingness to communicate with outsiders.
But the Sentilese people now risk being wiped out, after a US tourist left a can of Coke on the island.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, made the dangerous journey to the island on Saturday.
The man landed on the island, and left a can of Coke and a coconut as offerings for the tribe.
His reckless actions sparked outrage, as experts fear for the safety of the Sentilese people.
Caroline Pearce, the director of the indigenous rights organization Survival International, remarked, “It’s astonishingly reckless and foolish for someone to behave in such a manner.”
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.
“It’s well documented that uncontacted tribes are extremely susceptible to common external illnesses like flu or measles, posing a severe risk of decimating their populations.”
Contacting isolated tribes can be extremely dangerous and, in some cases, can lead to devastating epidemics.
What we know about the island
Not much is known about the island or how the Sentilese people live.
The island is located in India’s remote Andaman and Nicobar chain.
And anthropologists estimate that there could be anywhere between 50 to 100 people who live on the island.
The Sentinelese are a community of hunter-gatherers who live there isolated from the outside world.
According to multiple reports, they carry bows and arrows, as well as spears and knives.
They do not welcome unwanted visitors and will kill them if they get too close.
It is also illegal to be within three miles of the island.
Lived to tell the tale
Only a small group of people have ever been on the island and lived to tell the tale of it.
The most recent visitor to the island miraculously escaped unscathed – but Polyakov is not the only one to survive.
In 1981 a boat, the Primrose, ran aground on the island when it was transporting chicken feed from Bangladesh to Australia.
The crew detailed their harrowing ordeal when they noticed more than 50 men carrying various homemade weapons on the island.
After several failed rescue attempts, The Primrose crew were eventually winched to safety by helicopter under the watchful eyes of the Sentinelese.
Meanwhile, a group of anthropologists were able to deliver coconuts to the islanders between the 70s and 90s.
Trinok Nath Pandit led a small team of anthropologists who were able to safely deliver small goods over a long period of time.
Pandit told the Indian Express that it took 25 years for the Sentilese people to allow them on the island.
Even then, Pandit and his team had to be careful to not overstay his welcome.
A spokesperson mentioned, “If we attempted to intrude into their lands without abiding by their wishes or encroached too closely, they would demonstrate their displeasure by turning their backs on us and squatting as if to defecate, which was intended as an insult. If we failed to recognize this warning and continued, they would resort to shooting arrows.”
A bloody history
But most visitors aren’t nearly as fortunate.
John Allen Chau, 26, was killed in a hail of arrows after venturing onto the remote island of North Sentinel.
The US citizen had been illegally ferried by fishermen to make contact with the cut-off Sentinelese community – who are fiercely opposed to outsiders.
He was killed on November 17, 2018 after making repeated trips to North Sentinel on his kayak.
The fishermen who took him to within a few hundred yards of the shore reported seeing his body lying on the sand the following day.
Efforts to recover John’s body were abandoned over fears of further provoking the remote population.
Chau was a Christian missionary who felt “called” by God to share his beliefs with the island.
And this is not the first time the tribe has killed an unwanted visitor.
In 2006, two fisherman who washed up on North Sentinel Island were quickly attacked and murdered by the tribe.
Their bodies were buried in the sand and never recovered.
Top 10 dangerous places in the world
North Sentinel Island isn’t the only dangerous place on Earth.
Take a look at some of the other most dangerous places and give them a wide berth.
- Snake Island – Brazil There is an island about 25 miles off Brazil’s coast where no local would ever dare to walk. There are rumors that the last fisherman who strayed too close to his shores was found drifting in his boat days later, lifeless in a blood pool. The mysterious island is known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, and setting foot there is reportedly so dangerous that the Brazilian government has made it illegal for anyone to visit.
- Lake Natron – Tanzania This lake is better known as one of the most inhospitable areas on Earth. Lake Natron looks and acts a lot like a lake of fire. The lake’s high levels of Natron (sodium carbonate decahydrate) make its waters corrosive to human skin and eyes.
- Oymyakon – Russia Oymyakon is a small village located in in Russia. This place is considered to be one of the most dangerous places because of its extreme climatic condition. The severe temperature makes it impossible for life to sustain in this region. The temperature drops to as low as -40 degrees Celsius.
- Death Valley – California Death Valley is a desert valley on the California and Nevada border with extreme heat. It is known as one of the hottest places across the world. There are only a few deserts in the Middle East and Africa, approaching peak temperatures during the summer which can give competition to the Death Valley.
- Skeleton Coast – Angola The skeleton coast ranks in the list of “the deadliest places on earth” because of it’s harsh climate, and it offers almost zero chance of survival. The weather, hot winds, and lack of food, and water makes it difficult for travelers to explore this silent place.
- Danakil Desert- East Africa One of the most uninhabited environments in the World is the Danakil Desert in East Africa. With temperatures that regularly exceed 50°C, volcanoes and geysers that spew toxic gas, the Danakil Desert is not an easily accessible location for travel enthusiasts.
- Gates Of Hell – Turkmenistan It is a natural gas field within an underground cave; Geologists set it on fire to prevent methane gas from spreading, and it has been burning since 1971. It is located in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometers north of Turkmenistan’s capital, near the village of Derweze, Ashgabat.
- Madidi National Park – Bolivia The national park, which is a dense forest, is filled with all kinds of flora and fauna, and some of these plant species are dangerous and not edible. The forest is filled with predators owing which tourists are advised against visiting the park on their own.
- Mount Sinabung – Indonesia Located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Mount Sinabung is an active stratovolcano. It is a dangerous place to live in or to visit because severely damaging eruptions occur here frequently. When these eruptions occur, thousands of people are left without shelter or livelihood.
- Bermuda Triangle – North Atlantic For several years, the Bermuda Triangle has become famous for many mysterious disappearances. These disappearances have been justified with many possible reasons ranging from magnetic force to aliens. Although most of these cases have been given logical and rational explanations, some of them still remain a mystery.
