An American tourist has been arrested after illegally sailing to a remote island - and leaving a can of Coke and a coconut as "offerings" for one of the world's most isolated tribes.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was detained on Monday in India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands after visiting the prohibited tribal reserve on North Sentinel Island without authorisation.
The tourist briefly landed on the northeastern shores of the forbidden island on March 29.
Police say Polyakov's journey was meticulously planned, having studied sea conditions, tides and access points beforehand.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was detained on Monday in India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands
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He departed from the nearby South Andaman island's Khurmadera Beach around 1am, navigating 25 miles across a strait using GPS to reach the island by 10am.
For approximately an hour, he blew a whistle from his inflatable boat hoping to attract attention.
After failing to receive a response, he landed on the island for about five minutes, collected sand samples and recorded video on his GoPro.
The Sentinelese tribe, which inhabits North Sentinel Island, are considered particularly vulnerable and are known to be hostile towards outsiders.
They have previously killed people who approached or landed on the island.
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Polyakov departed from the nearby South Andaman island's Khurmadera Beach around 1am, navigating 25 miles across a strait using GPS to reach the island by 10am
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The last visitor to attempt contact was John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old Christian missionary who was killed "in a hail of arrows" after venturing onto the remote island unannounced.
Efforts to recover Chau's body were abandoned over fears of further antagonising the tribe.
Authorities revealed that this wasn't Polyakov's first attempt to reach protected tribes - he had previously visited Port Blair, also on South Andaman, in October last year with plans to sail to North Sentinel Island using an inflatable kayak, but was stopped by hotel staff.
In January, he returned to the region and allegedly illegally recorded video of the Jarawa tribe during a visit to the Baratang Islands.
Local fishermen reported his latest activities to police after he returned to Khurmadera Beach.
Caroline Pearce, director of indigenous rights group Survival International, described Polyakov's attempt to make contact with the tribe as "deeply disturbing".
"It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic," she said. "This person's actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk."
Very little is known about the North Sentinelese, except for their unwillingness to communicate with outsiders
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Polyakov now faces charges for breach of protection of aboriginal tribes.
North Sentinel Island has been off limits since 1996, and it is illegal to be within three miles of the island.
Anthropologists estimate there could be between 50 to 100 people living there.
Very little is known about the tribe, except for their unwillingness to communicate with outsiders.
According to reports, they carry bows and arrows, spears and knives.
Only a small group of people have ever visited the island and lived to tell the tale.
