A US tourist who illegally travelled to the remote North Sentinel Island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was arrested earlier this week.
Identified as Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, the 24-year-old was apprehended by the CID on March 31. He arrived at Port Blair on March 26.
On March 29 roughly around 1 am, Polyakov sailed from Kurma Dera Beach for 25 km using GPS on a inflatable boat to the restricted island. He reached the northeastern coast of the island on March 30 around 10 am.
World's Most Isolated Tribe - North Sentinel Island, India
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) April 3, 2025
The Sentinelese are considered the last pre-Neolithic tribe and have viciously defended their isolation from the outside world for more than 50,000 years.
Numerous reports suggest they have killed people who attempted… https://t.co/CJTnhornz1 pic.twitter.com/t3NHxc3s6w
Authorities said Polyakov did a recce of the island using binoculars and blew whistle to lure out inhabitants of the island. With no one responding, he landed on the island for around five minutes to collect sand samples and left a can of Coke and a coconut for the islanders. Polyakov also recorded video of the island.
Polyakov returned to the Kurma Dera Beach the same day around 7 pm when fishermen in the area reported him to the authorities. The CID arrested him and recovered a GoPro containing videos he captured at the island. His boat and an outboard motor were also seized.
The authorities have contacted the US embassy and the Home Department regarding Polyokov's arrest. He had visited Port Blair in October 2024 when he tried to sail to North Sentinal on an inflatable kayak. However, the hotel staff had stopped him.
Later, he came back in January and visited the Baratang Islands. He is believed to have recorded the videos of the Jarawa tribe.
Who are the Sentinelese?
The Sentinelese tribe are considered vulnerable and are believed to have little immunity to the diseases carried by the general population. Sentinelese are known to be aggressive towards outsiders, even killing some people who entered the island. Contacting them is punishable by up to three years in prison.
In November 2018, a US missionary, John Chau, was shot to death with arrows by the Sentinelese tribe.
