An American tourist has been arrested for allegedly travelling to a restricted reserve on a remote island and leaving behind a can of Coke as an ‘offering’ for the world’s most isolated tribe to try.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested in India‘s Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Monday after he allegedly visited a prohibited tribal reserve on North Sentinel Island without authorization.
Polyakov arrived in Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on March 26 and sailed across a 25-mile straight from Kurma Dera Beach to North Sentinel Island on a makeshift craft three days later.
He arrived at the forbidden island’s northeastern shores on Saturday around 10am and, using binoculars, began to survey the area for signs life.
Polyakov spent roughly an hour blowing a whistle from his inflatable boat in hopes of drawing attention to himself, but received no response.
He landed on the island for roughly five minutes, during which he collected sample samples, recorded a video and left behind a can of soda and a coconut as ‘offerings for the Sentinelese’ tribe, police told The Press Trust of India.
The Sentinelese tribe, which inhabits North Sentinel Island, are considered a particularly vulnerable group. They are reportedly hostile towards outsiders and have in the past killed people who approached or landed on the island.
Experts, branding Polyakov’s attempted visit as ‘deeply disturbing’, warn that not only did he put himself in danger, but also put the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk of being wiped out were they to contract a common disease, such as measles or influenza.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands after he allegedly visited a prohibited tribal reserve on North Sentinel Island without authorization. He left behind ‘offerings for the Sentinelese’ tribe (pictured in a file photo)
Polyakov arrived at the shores of North Sentinel Island (pictured in file photo) around 10am on March 29 and – using binoculars – began surveying the area for signs life. He spent roughly an hour blowing a whistle from his inflatable boat in hopes of drawing attention to himself, but received no response
Polyakov departed Kurma Dera Beach around 1am on March 29 and, using GPS navigation, arrived at North Sentinel Island around 10am.
Police say his journey to the prohibited territory was meticulously planned, alleging that the tourist had studied sea conditions, tides and access points before making the journey.
He returned to the beach around 7pm that same day, where he was spotted by local fishermen who then reported his activities to police.
Polyakov was arrested and officers seized his boat, an outboard motor and a GoPro containing video of his landing on the restricted island.
‘We are getting more details about him and his intention to visit the reserved tribal area,’ Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ Director General of Police told the newspaper.
Investigators are also trying to identify where else Polyakov visited during his stay in the region and are ‘questioning the hotel staff where he was staying in Port Blair’.
Indian authorities prohibit visits to North Sentinel Island in an effort to protect the Sentinelese tribe from outside threats.
Caroline Pearce, the director of indigenous rights group Survival International, branded Polyakov’s attempt to visit the island as ‘reckless and idiotic’.
‘This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,’ she said in a statement provided to MailOnline.
‘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.’
Polyakov landed on the island for roughly five minutes, collected sand samples, recorded a video on his GoPro, and left behind a can of soda and a coconut as ‘offerings for the Sentinelese’ tribe (pictured in a file photo above)
Pearce added that the ‘Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years’, citing how American missionary John Chau, 26, was killed on the island in November 2018.
Chau attempted to make contact the Sentinelse and and convert them to Christianity. His body remains on the island.
‘It’s good news that the man in this latest incident has been arrested, but deeply disturbing that he was reportedly able to get onto the island in the first place,’ she said of Polyakov’s arrest.
‘The Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, people fishing illegally in their waters and anyone else who may try to make contact with them.’
Polyakov, as of Wednesday, remained in custody for further interrogation. The US Embassy, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Department have been notified of his arrest.
The American tourist previously visited Port Blair in October last year with plans to sail to North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak, but was stopped by hotel staff.
He returned to the region again in January this year and tried to obtain a motor for his boat. According to police, he visited the Baratang Islands during that visit and allegedly illegally recorded video of the Jarawa tribe.
MailOnline has approached police and the US Embassy in India for comment.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare
The Sentinelese, who are considered to be the world’s last pre-Neolithic tribe, have a history of hostility towards outsiders, having attacked almost everyone who has entered their territory.
Because of their rejection of the outside world, little is known about them – including what they call themselves.
What is known has been gleaned from viewing them from boats moored far enough away from the tribesmen, who carry spears, bows and arrows, or from the few times the tribe allowed authorities to come close enough to hand over coconuts.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare.
North Sentinel Island is out of bounds even to the Indian navy in a bid to protect its reclusive inhabitants who number only about 150.
Campaigns by non-profit and local organizations have led the Indian government to abandon plans to contact the Sentinelese.
It is illegal to have any contact with the tribe and the Indian government said even taking photographs or making videos of aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.
Survival International, which works to ensure that no further attempts are made to contact the tribe, says the Sentinelese have thrived on the small forested island – which is approximately the size of Manhattan – for up to 55,000 years.
The women wear fiber strings tied around their waists, necks and heads. The men also wear necklaces and headbands, but with a thicker waist belt.
From a distance, they appear healthy and thriving and observers have noted many children and pregnant women at times.
According to Survival, the Sentinelese hunt and gather in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters by make narrow outrigger canoes, which can only be used in shallow waters as they are steered and propelled with a pole like a punt.
