JAKARTA: Separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region took a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting off a small commercial plane alight on Tuesday Feb 7 in a remote highland area, a pro-independence group said in a statement.
A police spokesman in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said authorities were investigating the incident, with police and military personnel sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers.
We can't send many personnel there because Nduga is a difficult area to reach. He said we can only go there by plane.
A military spokesman in Papua, Herman Taryaman, said the pilot had been identified as Captain Philip Merthens and it was not clear whether the five accompanying passengers had been abducted.
The plane operated by Susi Air landed safely early on Tuesday morning, before being attacked by rebel fighters, authorities said.
The West Papua National Liberation Army TPNPB claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement seen by Reuters, saying the pilot wouldn't be released until the Indonesian government acknowledges the independence of West Papua, which refers to the western side of New Guinea island.
The TPNPB made no mention of the passengers, but said this was the second time that the group had taken a hostage. The first incident occurred in 1996.