People Living On Remote Island Near India Will Kill Anyone
Who Tries To Come Ashore
On January 26, 2006, two fishermen were killed by the tribe
when their boat drifted near the island. An Indian coastguard helicopter
attempted to retrieve the fishermen’s bodies, but was prevented from landing
when it was greeted with a volley of arrows from the tribesmen.
On August 2, 1981, the ship Primrose grounded on the North
Sentinel Island reef. Within a short time, shipmates on the immobile vessel
noticed that men on the shore were carrying spears and arrows and building
boats on the beach. The captain radioed for a drop of weapons so that the ship
could defend itself, but did not receive them. Luckily, heavy seas kept the
islanders away long enough for the crew to be rescued by helicopter.
After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the Indian government
sent a helicopter to check on the inhabitants on the island. While other nearby
islands were heavily affected, the Sentinelese appeared to have been unharmed.
The helicopter observed several clansmen shooting arrows and throwing stones at
the hovering aircraft with the apparent intent of repelling it.
Believed to number anywhere from 50 to 400, the Sentinelese
have lived in isolation on the island for 60,000 years.
The deep tree canopy makes it difficult to observe the
Sentinelese from the air, but based on limited observational data it is assumed
that they are hunter-gatherers; agriculture does not appear to be known to them.
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