Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 30 January 2023
On 22nd December 2022, three fishermen from the Wandoor area of South Andaman left their homes to go on a fishing trip. All three fishermen have not returned home yet. According to the locals of the Wandoor area and the relatives of the missing fishermen, their fishing trip usually lasts around 10-12 days on average.
On the 14th of January 2023, the relatives of the missing fishermen approached PS Humfrygunj to lodge a missing complaint.
Some local fishermen also later claimed to have seen a yellow-coloured fishing boat on the shores of North Sentinel Island.
North Sentinel Island is home to the Sentinelese Tribe. The Sentinelese Tribe are not friendly with intruders and often try to avoid contact with the outside world. In 2018, the Sentinelese Tribe made headlines when they killed an American Missionary named John Allen Chau who intruded on their Island with the intent to preach Christianity to the members of the tribe.
According to family members they were provided with some Photographs of a boat stuck on the coral bed on the shore of North Sentinel Island by the local police. The relatives informed that the photographs were taken by Indian Coast Guard. The High-Resolution Photographs also display the registration number of the boat.
The relatives suspect that the missing fishermen may still be alive on North Sentinel Island. The relatives along with the PRI Members and Political leaders have met the officers of the administration and requested them to launch a rescue operation.
The relatives informed that they have not received any information from the Administration on whether any rescue attempt has been made or not.