Indonesian Forces Retrieve New Zealand Pilot's Body In Papua

Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2024) The body of a New Zealand helicopter pilot shot dead by rebels in eastern Indonesia's restive Papua region has been retrieved, the joint task force of police and soldiers leading the search said on Tuesday.

Glen Malcolm Conning, 50, a pilot for PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, was killed Monday after landing in Papua with four Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived.

Police said on Monday the rebels released the survivors because they were Indonesians.

The Cartenz Peace Taskforce, assembled to deal with Papua separatists, retrieved the pilot's body from the remote area of Alama and transported it to Timika city, it said in a statement.

"The body of the pilot has been evacuated from the Alama district to Timika and arrived at 12:50 pm local time. The body is currently at the Mimika General Hospital for an autopsy," Cartenz spokesman Bayu Suseno said.

Mimika regency police head I Komang Budiartha told reporters on Monday that three helicopters had been dispatched for the search effort.

Suseno said the victim's body was found in the cockpit.

The rebels had set fire to the helicopter but the flames had not reached the pilot, he said.

A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told AFP earlier Tuesday that it was aware of reports of the pilot's death and said its embassy in the Indonesian capital Jakarta was seeking further information from authorities.

The killing comes less than two years after another New Zealand pilot, Phillip Mehrtens, was abducted by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). He remains in captivity.

TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Tuesday.

The insurgent group has demanded that Indonesia recognise Papuan independence in return for Mehrten's release.

Papua, a former Dutch colony, declared independence in 1961 but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising a referendum. A thousand Papuans voted in 1969 to integrate into Indonesia in a UN-backed poll.

Papuan independence activists regularly criticise the vote and call for fresh polls, but Jakarta says its sovereignty over Papua is supported by the United Nations.