American killed in Sentinel Islands (Andamans)

John Allen Chau, the American national allegedly killed by people belonging to the protected Sentinelese tribe in the North Sentinel Island, had hired fishermen to take him there clandestinely, Dependra Pathak, DGP, Andaman and Nicobar Police said on Wednesday.

“They started on November 14 around 8 p.m. and reached by midnight. The next day, Mr. Chau moved to shore using his kayak which he got towed with the fishing boat. After dropping him, the fishermen fixed their timings and place to meet each other.

In the morning of November 17, they saw a dead person being buried at the shore which from the silhouette of the body, clothing and circumstances appeared to be the body of Mr. Chau,” a press release said.

They returned to Port Blair and narrated the incident to local electronics engineer Alexander, who had arranged for the transport, and handed him the 13 pages of the journal written by Mr. Chau.

In a statement on Wednesday, Survival International’s director Stephen Corry blamed the Indian authorities for the tragedy.

He criticised the government for excluding the North Sentinel Island and 28 others in the Union Territory from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime.

Instead it should have enforced the curb, both for the safety of the tribe and outsiders.