Police: American killed visiting isolated tribe in India

NEW DELHI — An American adventurer who traveled to a remote Indian island populated by a tribe known for shooting at outsiders with bows and arrows has been killed, police said Wednesday.

Dependera Pathak, director-general of police on India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said seven fishermen have been arrested for helping the American reach North Sentinel Island. The Sentinelese people are resistant to outsiders and often attack anyone who comes near, and visits to the island are heavily restricted by the government.

Pathak identified the American as John Allen Chau and said he told a hotel he was 26 years old. Chau was apparently shot and killed by arrows, but the cause of death can’t be confirmed until his body is recovered, Pathak told The Associated Press.

“It was a case of misdirected adventure,” Pathak said.

Police have approached anthropologists with contacts on the island in an effort to recover the body, Pathak 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, Pathak said.

Police charged the seven fishermen with endangering the life of the American by taking him to a prohibited area, Pathak said.

Kathleen Hosie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, the capital of India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, said she was aware of reports concerning an American in the islands but could not comment further due to privacy considerations.