Body recovered of New Zealand pilot killed in Papua region of Indonesia

Indonesian security forces have recovered the body of a New Zealand pilot who was killed in an alleged separatist attack in the restive Papua region, according to officials.

Glen Malcolm Conning, a helicopter pilot for Indonesian aviation company PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, was shot dead on Monday by gunmen allegedly with the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, shortly after landing in Alama, a remote district in the Mimika regency of Central Papua province.

The attackers released all six passengers, including two health workers and two children, said Bayu Suseno, spokesman of the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, the joint security force set up by the Indonesian government to deal with separatist groups in Papua.

“We suspect that the armed group that shot the pilot was from Nduga district, led by Egianus Kogoya,” Mr Suseno said in a video statement.

He described the group as the most dangerous and very active in disturbing the security around Timika, a town that feeds the Grasberg mine which is nearly half owned by US-based Freeport-McMoRan and is run by PT Freeport Indonesia.

“This group is our main target to arrest this year,” Mr Suseno said.

In February 2023, Mr Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, abducted Philip Mark Mehrtens, a pilot from Christchurch who was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air.

Mr Kogoya and his troops stormed a single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in a mountainous village.

He said they would not release Mr Mehrtens unless Indonesia agrees to Papua becoming a sovereign country.

A year and a half later, Mr Mehrtens remains a captive of the rebels.

Security forces found the body of Mr Conning on Tuesday inside his helicopter that was still parked on a small runway in Alama, in a mountainous district that can be reached only by small aircraft, said Lieutenant General Richard Tampubolon, chief of the joint regional command of Papua.

He said bad weather conditions halted their search and evacuation operation on Monday.

The rescue operation on Tuesday also evacuated about 13 people, mostly teachers and health workers from Alama, who were traumatised by the incident and fear of their safety.

Mr Tampubolon said the body of the pilot was flown to a hospital in Timika for an autopsy before being returned to his family.

“A preliminary medical examination showed gunshot wounds and slashes from sharp weapons on his body,” Mr Tampubolon said.

“We strongly condemned this inhumane killing of a pilot who had made many contributions in providing humanitarian services to remote communities in Papua.”

West Papua Liberation Army spokesman Sebby Sambom said in a voice message to The Associated Press on Monday that they had designated the area as a restricted zone where civilian aircraft were prohibited from landing. He blamed the pilot for disregarding their warnings.