New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia’s restive region of Papua and was in good health despite the 19-month-long ordeal, Indonesian and New Zealand authorities said on Saturday.
Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels at Nduga airport in the restive region on February 7 last year.
“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 rebels in Papua, said in a statement.
A joint task force of police and military picked up Mehrtens in a village of Nduga district early Saturday, Faizal said.
The released hostage was then given medical and psychological checks before he was flown to Papua’s city of Timika.
