An American tourist trying to visit a lush, remote island in India has been killed by a tribe completely cut off from the outside world and known to attack outsiders with bows and arrows, police revealed Wednesday.
Indian officials have identified the victim as John Allen Chau, 27. They added that he was illegally ferried by fishermen to North Sentinel Island last week, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal between India and Burma.
“Adventure awaits. So do leeches,” read the final post on his Instagram account, dated Nov. 2. On his Facebook profile, Chau described himself as a “soccer coach, traveller, and writer.” He often posted images of his worldwide exploits online, such as hikes in Washington state and prior trips to India.
Dependera Pathak, director-general of police on India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, told the Associated Press that Chau arrived in the region on Oct. 16 and stayed in a hotel while he prepared to visit the prohibited island.
He said Chau organized his visit to the island through a friend who hired seven fishermen for $325 to take him there on a boat, which also towed his kayak.
Chau went ashore in his kayak on Nov. 15 and sent the boat with the fishermen out to sea to avoid detection, Pathak said. He interacted with some of the tribespeople, giving them gifts he had prepared such as a football and fish. But the tribespeople became angry and shot an arrow at him which apparently hit a book he was carrying, Pathak said.
The American's kayak became damaged, so he swam to the fishermen's boat, which was waiting at a prearranged location. There he spent the night and wrote out his experiences on pages of paper which he gave to the fishermen, Pathak said.
In one of the notes handed over,
according to the New York Times, Chau wrote about Jesus bestowing him with the strength to visit some of the most forbidden places on Earth.
Chau then set off for the island again the following day.
Sources who spoke to AFP though said once he set foot on shore, he was “attacked by arrows but he continued walking.
“The fishermen saw the tribals tying a rope around his neck and dragging his body,” one source added.
Following Chau's death, the fishermen left for Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where they informed Chau's friend, who notified his family, Pathak said.
He said the family got in touch with Indian police and U.S. consular officials.
"It was a case of misdirected adventure," he added.
The body,
according to Reuters, has not yet been recovered as of Wednesday, and those who took him to the island are said to have been arrested.
"The investigation in this matter is on," senior police officer Deepak Yadav said, announcing that the seven fishermen have been taken into custody.
