New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
The Peninsula
Jakarta: New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia s restive region of Papua and is in good health de...
Jakarta: New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia's restive region of Papua and is in good health despite the 19-month ordeal, Indonesian and New Zealand authorities said Saturday.
Mehrtens, 38, was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group at Papua's Nduga airport on February 7 last year.
A joint task force of police and military collected Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday before he was given medical and psychological checks and flown to the Papuan city of Timika.
"Today we have picked up pilot Phillip who is in good health and we flew him from Nduga to Timika," Faizal Ramadhani, head of the special unit formed to handle rebels in Papua, said in a statement.
The New Zealand government said Mehrtens was doing well and had spoken to his family, which had been assisted by Wellington.