Sentinelese scare off police with bows, experts warn 'impossible to find Chau's body'

Published on 29-Nov-2018

Khushboo Razdan

The Sentinelese stand guard on an island shore (File photo). /courtesy of Survival International by Christian Caron

A group of Sentinelese tribesmen stood on guard at the beach carrying bows, arrows, and spears as police officials continued to search for U.S. citizen John Allen Chau's body near the forbidden North Sentinel Island in India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Saturday.

A crew member turned off the police boat's motor as the team peered at the tribesmen through binoculars, at a safe distance from the shore, out of bow-and-arrow range.

"Our team saw around five to six tribesmen, they appeared watchful as if they were guarding something, carrying bows and arrows," Dependra Pathak, director general of Andaman and Nicobar police, told CGTN Digital.

Chau, 27, illegally landed on the protected North Sentinel on November 18. The island is home to the 60,000-year-old Sentinelese community, believed to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world. The American adventurer and Christian missionary was allegedly trying to introduce his religion to the indigenous tribe.

Sentinelese tribesmen aiming bows and arrows at an Indian Coast Guard helicopter as it flies over the North Sentinel Island for a survey of the damage caused by the 2004 tsunami. /courtesy of Indian Coast Guard

Pathak said his team approached within 400 meters of the spot where Chau was last seen by the fishermen who helped him reach the island.

"We have sketched out the crime scene and the sea route taken by Chau. Another attempt to retrieve the body will be made after due consultations with tribal experts," said Pathak while speaking with CGTN Digital.

Very little is known about the Sentinelese tribe of North Sentinel, an island approximately the size of Manhattan. Its members are known for reacting with hostility and violence to outsiders' attempts to interact with them. The island is off-limits to visitors and the tribe is protected under the Indian law.

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