![]() ![]() In 2006, islanders killed two fishermen whose boat had drifted ashore, and in 2018 an American Christian missionary, 26-year-old John Chau, was killed after he attempted to make contact with the islanders three separate times and paid local fishermen to transport him to the island. Such attacks have resulted in injury and death. The islanders have been observed shooting arrows at boats, as well as at low-flying helicopters. The Sentinelese have repeatedly attacked approaching vessels, whether the boats were intentionally visiting the island or simply ran aground on the surrounding coral reef. ![]() In November 2018, the government's home ministry stated that the relaxation of the prohibition on visitations was intended to allow researchers and anthropologists (with pre-approved clearance) to finally visit the Sentinel islands. In 2018, the Government of India excluded 29 islands – including North Sentinel – from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime, in a major effort to boost tourism. In practice, Indian authorities recognise the islanders' desire to be left alone, restricting outsiders to remote monitoring (by boat and sometimes air) from a reasonably safe distance the Indian government will not prosecute the Sentinelese for killing people in the event that an outsider ventures ashore. Nominally, the island belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The area is patrolled by the Indian Navy. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act of 1956 prohibits travel to the island, and any approach closer than 5 nautical miles (9.3 km), in order to protect the remaining tribal community from "mainland" infectious diseases against which they (likely) have no acquired immunity. The island is about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) wide, and its area is approximately 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi). It is home to the Sentinelese, an indigenous people in voluntary isolation who have defended, often by force, their protected isolation from the outside world. This ecosystem has attracted fishermen and travellers such as the American national, many of whom met a brutal end.North Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands, an Indian archipelago in the Bay of Bengal which also includes South Sentinel Island. A helicopter sent to retrieve their bodies was attacked and forced to retreat.Īs the area has been largely untouched by modern man, the biodiversity around the island has thrived, making it a coral reef haven that is home to several varieties of fish and underwater creatures. More recently in 2006, two fishermen illegally fishing in the area were caught by the Sentinelese and killed. The tribe refused aid and even attempted to attack the helicopter. After the Indonesia tsunami in 2004, Indian government sent a helicopter to drop food and other supplies to the Sentinelese, assuming they needed relief. These visits received responses that varied from friendly to hostile. The children were eventually returned to the island with some gifts.īetween 1970-96, Indian authorities and even a National Geographic documentary team attempted trips to the North Sentinel island to befriend the tribe. The party found ‘abandoned' villages and some children, who they took back to Port Blair ‘in the interest of science'. In the 1800s, the British ‘Officer in Charge of the Andamanese', MV Portman landed on the North Sentinel Island, in hope of establishing contact with the Sentinelese.
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