The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra and Thailand. There are three distinct groups of islands (Northern, Central, and Southern), with the main islands being Car Nicobar, Great Nicobar, and Little Nicobar. The Danish East India arrived in 1754–56. Italy unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the Nicobar Islands in the mid-nineteenth century. They became part of the British India in 1869. In 1950, they became a union territory of India. The December 2004 tsunami devastated the Nicobar Islands: several islands broke into pieces from the force of the earthquake and at least 6,000 people were killed.