Indian police have arrested a tourist for travelling to a remote island to visit the world's most isolated tribe. The island, North Sentinel, is part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, around 1,200 km east of India. It is 60 square kilometres in size. North Sentinel is a protected area. It is home to the Sentinelese people, an indigenous tribe who have fiercely defended their isolation from the outside world. The tourist did not make contact with the islanders. However, he did leave them a can of Diet Coke and a coconut. He could face up to five years in prison.

India's government banned outsiders from visiting North Sentinel to protect the Sentinelese way of life. The ban is to shield the people from modern, potentially deadly illnesses. A non-profit group that protects isolated tribes said: "Uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out." In the past few decades, the islanders have killed several people who attempted to visit the island. The recently arrested tourist, who called himself a thrill seeker, was luckier.