Views: 0
THE STRAITS TIMES
JAKARTA – The body of a New Zealand helicopter pilot shot dead by rebels in eastern Indonesia’s restive Papua region has been retrieved, the joint task force of police and soldiers leading the search said Aug 6.
Mr Glen Malcolm Conning, 50, a pilot for Intan Angkasa Air Service, was killed on Aug 5 after landing in Papua with two Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived.
The Cartenz Peace Task Force, assembled to deal with Papua separatists, retrieved his body from the remote area of Alama and transported it to Timika city, it said in a statement.
“The body of the pilot has been evacuated from the Alama district to Timika and arrived at 12.50pm local time. The body is currently at the Mimika General Hospital for an autopsy,” Cartenz spokesman Bayu Suseno said.
Mimika police head I Komang Budiartha told reporters on Aug 5 that three helicopters were dispatched for the search effort.
A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said earlier on Aug 6 that it was aware of reports of the pilot’s death and said its embassy in the Indonesian capital Jakarta was seeking further information from the authorities.
The killing comes less than two years after another pilot from New Zealand, Mr Phillip Mehrtens, was abducted by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). He remains in captivity.