An American tourist has been arrested for allegedly entering India’s North Sentinel Island, where the residents have no contact with the outside world, and visiting is prohibited. The tourist took a coconut and a Diet Coke as a “gift” to the Sentinelese on the island, the important thing being that he returned alive.
Indian police said on Thursday, April 3, that they had arrested a 24-year-old American tourist for allegedly entering North Sentinel Island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands off India’s southeast coast, with a can of Diet Coke and a coconut to enter a restricted island with an isolated tribe.
Numbering around 150, the Sentinelese cut off all contact with the outside world and are known to throw spears at outsiders who try to approach. Their language and culture are still unknown to outsiders.
The American tourist allegedly used a motorized inflatable boat to travel about 35 kilometers (22 miles) of open sea from the main island to a restricted area.
To protect the indigenous people living there from foreign diseases and to preserve their livelihoods, Indian and foreign nationals have been banned from traveling within five kilometers of North Sentinel Island, as their immunity may differ due to their isolation from us.
“The tourist briefly landed for about five minutes, left offerings on the shore, then collected sand samples and recorded a video before returning to his boat. A review of footage from the American tourist’s GoPro camera showed that he entered and landed on the restricted North Sentinel Island,” Andaman and Nicobar Islands police chief HGS Dhaliwal told the AFP.
“The American tourist was produced before a local court after his arrest and has now been remanded for three days for further questioning,” added Police Chief Dhaliwal.
Previous attempts to enter North Sentinel Island
Police said the tourist had previously tried to enter the island using an inflatable kayak in October 2024 but was unsuccessful after being stopped by hotel staff. He later attempted to enter the island again in January 2025.
This time he first tried to attract attention by whistling in a different way. The American tourist then left coconuts and Diet Coke as “gifts” for the island’s Sentinelese and had no contact with them, locals said.
It is unclear what punishment the American citizen could face for the crime. Meanwhile, the Andamans are also home to the 400-strong Jarawa tribe, who activists say are also under threat due to contact from outsiders.
In 2018, an American missionary, John Allen Chau, illegally landed on North Sentinel Island, where he is believed to have been killed with arrows by isolated tribesmen.
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