North Sentinel Island: Why it's dangerous, population, weapons used, after American arrested for offering Coke

It is home to the Sentinelese tribe, indigenous people who have violently resisted all contact with the outside world. The island has once made headlines after American tourist Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested after illegally landing on the island and leaving behind offerings, including a can of Coca Cola, for the tribe.

In 2018, 26-year-old American missionary John Chau was killed after attempting to make contact and convert the islanders to Christianity, despite multiple warnings.

What makes North Sentinel Island so dangerous to visit?

North Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India, located in the eastern Indian Ocean. It lies approximately 50 km (31 miles) west of Port Blair, the territory's capital, and is surrounded by coral reefs and shallow waters that make access challenging. Despite being geographically part of India, North Sentinel is legally and culturally sealed off from the rest of the world.

The Sentinelese are considered one of the last "uncontacted" peoples on Earth. Anthropologists believe they are direct descendants of the first human populations to migrate out of Africa, possibly over 60,000 years ago. Their estimated population ranges from 50 to 150 individuals, though exact numbers are unknown due to limited observation.

They are a hunter-gatherer society and live without agriculture, metal tools, or any influence from modern civilisation. The tribe communicates in a language unrelated to any known dialect, and their isolation is such that even the Indian government has never established lasting contact.

In 1956, the Indian government passed laws to prohibit any contact with the Sentinelese, declaring the island a tribal reserve. This ban was further reinforced in 1996, with a 5-nautical-mile exclusion zone enforced by Indian naval patrols.

Visiting the island is not just discouraged, it is a criminal offence under Indian law, specifically under the Andaman and Nicobar Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation (ANPATR). This is due to health risks as the Sentinelese have no immunity to modern diseases like influenza, measles, or Covid-19. Even a minor viral infection introduced by an outsider could potentially wipe out the entire population.

The tribe is also known for historical violence, as it would respond aggressively to intruders, often using bows, arrows, and spears.