New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed by Papua rebels after 19 months

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed by rebels in Indonesia’s troubled eastern region of Papua 19 months after he was kidnapped.

“Today, we have picked up pilot Phillip, who is in good health, and we flew him from Nduga to Timika,” Faizal Ramadhani, head of a special unit formed to handle the conflict in Papua, said in a statement on Saturday. Mehrtens is undergoing further health checks and a physiological examination, Indonesian police added.

Fighters from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) snatched Mehrtens on February 7 last year after he landed his small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.

They said they would only free him if Indonesia gave Papua its independence.

The New Zealand government said Mehrtens was doing well and had spoken to his family.

“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.