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AN ISOLATED island in the Indian Ocean has been named as the most dangerous on the planet.
Home to a secluded indigenous group of people, little is known about about North Sentinel Island.
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The untouched piece of paradise has a dark past, with visitors to the island often killed in a hail of arrows by the Sentinelese people.
Anthropologists estimate that there could be anywhere between 50 to 100 people who live on the island.
Known for their violence and unwillingness to communicate with outsiders, not much is known about the people who live on the island.
Only a small group of people have ever been on the island and lived to tell the tale of it.
Lived to tell the tale
In 1981 a boat, the Primose, ran aground on the island when it was transporting chicken feed from Bangladesh to Australia.
The crew detailed their harrowing ordeal when they noticed more than 50 men carrying various homemade weapons on the island.
After several failed rescue attempts, The Primrose crew were eventually winched to safety by helicopter under the watchful eyes of the Sentinelese.
Meanwhile, a group of anthropologists were able to deliver coconuts to the islanders between the 70s and 90s.
Trinok Nath Pandit led a small team of anthropologists who were able to safely deliver small goods over a long period of time.
Pandit told the Indian Express that it took 25 years for the Sentilese people to allow them on the island.
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Even then, Pandit and his team had to be careful to not overstay his welcome.
He said: "If we tried to venture into their territory without respecting their wishes or got too close for comfort, they would turn their backs on us and sit down on their haunches, as it to defecate. That was meant to be an insult. If we didn’t pay heed and stop, they would shoot arrows as a last resort.
All Alone: Who are the Sentinelese tribe?
THE Sentinelese tribe are an indigenous tribe who have thrived on North Sentinal Island, one of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, for up to 55,000 years.
They have zero contact with the outside world and are actively hostile to anyone who approaches their land.
The small forested island of North Sentinel, which is a similar size to Manhattan, is even off limits to the Indian navy in a bid to protect the tribe of about 150 from being wiped out by disease.
The tribe got international attention after the 2004 tsunami, when a member of the tribe was pictured on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter inspecting their welfare.
In 2006, two Indian fishermen, who had moored their boat near the island to sleep after fishing near there, were killed when their boat broke loose and drifted onto the shore.
Campaigns by non-profit and local organisations have led the Indian government to abandon plans to contact the Sentinelese.
Survival International, an organisation that campaigns for the rights of tribal people, works to ensure that no further attempts are made to contact the tribe.
What we know about the island
Not much is known about the island or how the Sentilese people live.
The island is located in India's remote Andaman and Nicobar chain.
The Sentinelese are a community of hunter-gatherers who live there isolated from the outside world.
Pandit described the living arrangements as a group of huts, built facing one another, with a carefully-tended fire outside each one.
According to multiple reports, they carry bows and arrows, as well as spears and knives.
They do not welcome unwanted visitors and will kill them if they get too close.
It is also illegal to be within three miles of the island.
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A bloody history
A Christian missionary was killed in 2018 after he repeatedly tried to reach the island.
John Allen Chau, 26, was killed in a hail of arrows after venturing onto the remote island of North Sentinel.
The US citizen had been illegally ferried by fishermen to make contact with the cut-off Sentinelese community - who are fiercely opposed to outsiders.
He was killed on November 17, 2018 after making repeated trips to North Sentinel on his kayak.
The fishermen who took him to within a few hundred yards of the shore reported seeing his body lying on the sand the following day.
Efforts to recover John's body were abandoned over fears of further antagonising the remote Sentinelese - who are believed to be one of the world's last uncontacted people.
In 2006, two fisherman who washed up on North Sentinel Island were quickly attacked and murdered by the tribe.
Their bodies were buried in the sand.
Top 10 dangerous places in the world
North Sentinel Island isn't the only dangerous place on Earth.
Take a look at some of the other most dangerous places and give them a wide berth.
- Snake Island - Brazil There is an island about 25 miles off Brazil’s coast where no local would ever dare to walk. There are rumors that the last fisherman who strayed too close to his shores was found drifting in his boat days later, lifeless in a blood pool. The mysterious island is known as Ilha da Queimada Grande, and setting foot there is reportedly so dangerous that the Brazilian government has made it illegal for anyone to visit.
- Lake Natron - Tanzania This lake is better known as one of the most inhospitable areas on Earth. Lake Natron looks and acts a lot like a lake of fire. The lake’s high levels of Natron (sodium carbonate decahydrate) make its waters corrosive to human skin and eyes.
- Oymyakon - Russia Oymyakon is a small village located in in Russia. This place is considered to be one of the most dangerous places because of its extreme climatic condition. The severe temperature makes it impossible for life to sustain in this region. The temperature drops to as low as -40 degrees Celsius.
- Death Valley - California Death Valley is a desert valley on the California and Nevada border with extreme heat. It is known as one of the hottest places across the world. There are only a few deserts in the Middle East and Africa, approaching peak temperatures during the summer which can give competition to the Death Valley.
- Skeleton Coast - Angola The skeleton coast ranks in the list of “the deadliest places on earth” because of it’s harsh climate, and it offers almost zero chance of survival. The weather, hot winds, and lack of food, and water makes it difficult for travelers to explore this silent place.
- Danakil Desert- East Africa One of the most uninhabited environments in the World is the Danakil Desert in East Africa. With temperatures that regularly exceed 50°C, volcanoes and geysers that spew toxic gas, the Danakil Desert is not an easily accessible location for travel enthusiasts.
- Gates Of Hell - Turkmenistan It is a natural gas field within an underground cave; Geologists set it on fire to prevent methane gas from spreading, and it has been burning since 1971. It is located in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometers north of Turkmenistan’s capital, near the village of Derweze, Ashgabat.
- Madidi National Park - Bolivia The national park, which is a dense forest, is filled with all kinds of flora and fauna, and some of these plant species are dangerous and not edible. The forest is filled with predators owing which tourists are advised against visiting the park on their own.
- Mount Sinabung - Indonesia Located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Mount Sinabung is an active stratovolcano. It is a dangerous place to live in or to visit because severely damaging eruptions occur here frequently. When these eruptions occur, thousands of people are left without shelter or livelihood.
- Bermuda Triangle - North Atlantic For several years, the Bermuda Triangle has become famous for many mysterious disappearances. These disappearances have been justified with many possible reasons ranging from magnetic force to aliens. Although most of these cases have been given logical and rational explanations, some of them still remain a mystery.
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English (US) · 