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TNI, police launch joint operation to rescue ‘missing’ pilot in Papua
Authorities have deployed a joint team to evacuate a foreign pilot after they were allegedly taken hostage by separatist fighters in the Papuan highlands on Tuesday.
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A Susi Air Cessna C208B Grand Caravan aircraft, the same model which crashed in Papua on Jan. 7, 2022, prepares for take off at Halim airport in Jakarta on Sept. 10, 2011. An airplane from the frontier airline carrier was torched by rebels and its passengers abducted after safely landing on Paro airstrip in Nduga regency, Highland Papua on Feb. 7, 2023. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
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uthorities have deployed a joint team to evacuate a foreign pilot who was allegedly taken hostage by separatist fighters in the restive Papua region on Tuesday, after their commercial plane was set on fire upon landing safely in the remote regency of Nduga.
A joint search and rescue operation, codenamed Peaceful Carstensz, was launched by the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in an effort to locate New Zealand national Philip Merthens, who was “secured” alongside five passengers after landing on an airstrip in the Papuan highlands. The name Carstensz is a nod to the mountainous region where the incident occurred.
The whereabouts of Merthens, a pilot employed by the frontier airline carrier Susi Air, were still unclear due to conflicting information issued on Wednesday.
The West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement to The Jakarta Post that Merthens would not be released until the government acknowledged the independence of West Papua.
The plane landed safely early on Tuesday morning, before rebel fighters led by group commander Egianus Kogoya stormed the plane, torched it and took hostages. The Transportation Ministry has issued a notice calling for greater security awareness among air travel and traffic service providers.
The incident has since been corroborated by the local police and the military command. TNI chief Adm. Yudo Margono said that personnel were being deployed to the last known location of the pilot.
“Our priority now is to find the pilot,” Yudo told reporters after a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, noting that he had been led to believe Merthens escaped capture but had not been rescued.
