India struggles to recover body of American killed by tribe

by the Sentinelese tribe, which has little contact with outsiders.

Visiting the island is restricted by the government because members of the tribe are vulnerable to infection and are known to attack visitors.

Diaries written by Chau indicated that he wanted to convert the tribe to Christianity, a police source said. A message posted by his family on Instagram described him as a missionary who was “reaching out” to the tribe.

Operators of the boat that took Chau near the island — from where he continued his journey in a kayak — say they saw tribesmen shooting arrows at him and later burying his body in the sand, police said.

Police have arrested seven people who helped Chau reach the island, including the fishermen who operated the boat.

Two of those men accompanied a team of police, forest department, tribal welfare department and coast guard officials who conducted an expedition to North Sentinel Island on Friday to investigate the killing, police spokesman Jatin Narwal said.

Investigators had carried out an aerial survey Tuesday and a boat trip near the island Wednesday.

Senior police officials were in discussions with experts from the Anthropological Survey of India to understand the ways of the tribe and figure out a way to retrieve Chau’s body, Narwal said.

The Sentinelese are protected under Indian law and it is not clear whether they can be prosecuted for the killing.

Chau’s family in a post on his Instagram account said they forgave those responsible for his death and wanted the release of his friends in the Andaman Islands.

“He ventured out on his own free will and his local contacts need not be persecuted for his own actions,” the statement said.