Why island home to uncontacted tribe is off limits to everyone in the world
It's vacation season, and while many holidaymakers are browsing for their next island getaway - there's one that's completely off limits.
Many will be heading to India to visit the beaches of Goa, or the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra. However, they'll have to steer clear of the North Sentinel Island, which is home to the Sentinelese, which is one of the least contacted tribes on Earth.
We all like to switch off now and then, but the Sentinelese are believed to have lived in isolation for over 60,000 years on the Island, which is located in the Bay of Bengal, and part of the Andaman islands.
This tribe has no idea about Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, as they are untouched by technology and modern society.
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However, it's not just a preference, it's actually illegal to visit the island, and it has been since 1996. This is due to a number of factors, including disease risk. As the tribe has been isolated from the outside world, they lack immunity to diseases from the outside.
The tribe are also not welcoming to strangers, and have been known to kill and throw stones at those who try to enter their territory.
However, this doesn't mean people haven't tried. Recently, YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was recently detained by police after he was accused of stepping foot on the North Sentinel Island.
He's said to have stayed on the Island for an hour, to film for his YouTube channel.
During his attempt, it's believed he blew a whistle to try and get the attention of the tribe, Metro reports.
It was local fishermen who reported the YouTuber to authorities, after leaving behind a Diet Coke as an 'offering'.
He's not the only one to attempt to enter the forbidden, with US evangelist John Allen Chau also attempting to visit in 2018 - who even planned to live amongst the tribe.
John was attempting to preach Christianity to the people. However, he is said to have been killed with arrows on November 17, and his body was never recovered.
In 2004, the tribe did have some sort of contact with the outside world.
After the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami that year, helicopters flew over the island, but once again the outsiders weren't received well.
In fact, one of the members of the tribes aimed his arrow at the helicopter, not taking help from anyone.
Kiesha Dosanjh