An American traveller was killed when he reached an uncontacted Andaman tribe on North Sentinel Island The Sentinelese have been described as the most secretive tribe in the world

A 27-year-old traveller has been killed by an uncontacted tribe on an island near India.

John Allen Chau visited the North Sentinel island, which is one of the Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal, India, to make contact with the Sentinelese tribe, a group of people who have no contact with the outside world.

Shot with arrows

Mr Chau attempted to visit the group on 16 November after he was taken by fishermen to the reserved area of North Sentinel island, where visitors have to obtain a pass to enter.

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But the fishermen reported that tribespeople shot him with arrows and left his body on the beach.

His body was discovered on 20 November, but has not yet been recovered by authorities.

Mr Chau was said to have previously travelled to the island in an attempt to make contact.

“Police said Chau had previously visited North Sentinel island about four or five times with the help of local fishermen,” journalist Subir Bhaumik, who has been covering the islands for years, told BBC Hindi.

“The number of people belonging to the Sentinelese tribe is so low, they don’t even understand how to use money. It’s in fact illegal to have any sort of contact with them.”

‘His intention was to meet the aborigines’

The man was described by a local as an “adventurer”, not a “missionary.”

“He lived in Alabama, US. He is some kind of paramedic. He was on a misplaced adventure in prohibited area to meet uncontacted people,” the director General of Andaman police force Dependra Pathak told Indian newspaper The News Minute.

“People thought he was a missionary because he had mentioned his position on god, and that he was a believer on social media or somewhere online. But in a strict sense, he was not a missionary. He was an adventurer. His intention was to meet the aborigines.”

The director said his force was working on a solution to retrieving Chau’s body.

“His body has not yet been retrieved because we have to strategise keeping in mind the nuances and sensitivity of other cultures. We are working on that, and are in contact with anthropologists and tribal welfare experts. We will figure out some strategy,” he added.

The Sentinelese tribe

The Sentinelese have been described as the most secretive tribe in the world.

Survivors International has said they “vigorously reject all contact with outsiders,” and they are protected under a series of legislative measures so that they can maintain an independence from the outside world.

They are protected under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation Act, 1956.

Under this legislation, a person requires a ‘pass’ for venturing into any of the restricted areas in which the Sentinalese live.

Police officials refused comment on whether the members of the Sentinalese tribes could be prosecuted.

In 2017, the Indian government also said taking photographs or making videos of the aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, reported the BBC.