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 .
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.
The director of indigenous rights group Survival International, Caroline Pearce, said: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic.
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.
“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.”;
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 ‘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.
, ran aground on the island when it was transporting chicken feed from Bangladesh to .
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 Expressthat 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.
He said: “If we tried to venture into their territory without respecting their wishes or got too close for comfort, they would turn their backs on us and sit down on their haunches, as it to defecate. That was meant to be an insult. If we didn’t pay heed and stop, they would shoot arrows as a last resort.
A bloody history
But most visitors aren't nearly as fortunate.
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.
