The body of a New Zealand helicopter pilot shot down by separatists in Papua has been found, a joint police and military task force leading the search said Tuesday (6/8).
Glen Malcolm Conning (50 years old), a pilot for PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, died on Monday (5/8) after landing in Papua with two health workers and two children. However, the four passengers survived.
The Cartenz Peace Operation Task Force, formed to deal with Papuan separatists, retrieved his body from the remote Alama area and brought it to the city of Timika, he said in a statement.
“The pilot's body was successfully evacuated from Alama district to Timika and arrived at 12.50 pm WIT. The body is currently at Mimika General Hospital for an autopsy,” said Head of the Cartenz Peace Operation Public Relations Task Force, Senior Commissioner Bayu Suseno.
Mimika police chief I Komang Budiartha told reporters on Monday that three helicopters were deployed for the search effort.
A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told AFP on Tuesday (6/8) that it was aware of reports of the pilot's death and said its embassy in Jakarta was seeking further information from authorities.
The killings come less than two years after another New Zealand pilot, Phillip Mehrtens, was kidnapped by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). He remains held hostage.
TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom did not respond to requests for comment. AFP on Tuesday.
The rebel group had previously demanded that the government recognise Papuan independence in return for Mehrten's release.
Papua, a former Dutch colony, declared independence in 1961. But two years later, the Indonesian government took over with the promise of a referendum. In 1969, a thousand Papuans voted to join the Republic of Indonesia in a referendum supported by the United Nations (UN).
Papuan independence activists have frequently criticized the vote and called for a re-election, while the government maintains that Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua is legitimate because it is backed by the United Nations. (ah/rs)
