YouTuber faces prison after illegal landing on North Sentinel Island risks deadly consequences for isolated tribe
A YouTuber who trespassed on the remote homeland of a spear-wielding tribe now faces up to five years in prison for the reckless stunt.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov floated for nine hours in a rubber dinghy to North Sentinel Island, part of India’s Andaman Islands, and filmed himself leaving a coconut and a can of coca cola on the shore.
The sugary treats were intended as a “peace offering” to the isolated Sentinelese tribe.
Unfortunately, the roughly 5 minute visit – and impromptu gifts – could have deadly consequences.
The can of coke may well prove fatal to the isolated tribe, which numbers just 150 people.
Outside contact – from foreigners and Indians alike – is completely forbidden lest dangerous diseases are carried over and wipe out the entire island population.
Travellers may not go within 5 km of the tropical island – a law the YouTuber completely ignored on his visit in March last year.
Director of indigenous rights group Survival International, Caroline Pearce, said: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic.
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.”
Upon his return to India, Polyakov was arrested and charged with entering a prohibited tribal reserve area.
Mykhailo Vikorovych Polyakov previously visited AfghanistanCredit: YouTube @Neo-Orientalist
Mykhailo Polyakov was arrested and charged for illegally entering a prohibited tribal reserve areaCredit: Police Handout
If found guilty, he faces up to five years behind bars.
The US YouTuber, whose father is Ukrainian, posts extreme travel stunts which include a tour of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
In 2018, an American missionary who waded ashore to convert the tribespeople was shot dead in a hail of arrows.
Two Indian fishermen who drifted too close to the island in 2006 were also killed.
Another daredevil YouTuber came close to death when he made contact with an untouched tribe in Indonesia.
The extreme traveller posts videos about his experiences to his over 6,000 subscribersCredit: YouTube @Neo-Orientalist
Christian missionary, John Allen Chau, was killed and buried by the Sentinelese peopleCredit: Reuters
North Sentinel Island is covered in lush green forests and has white sand beachesCredit: Alamy
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