New Zealand helicopter pilot killed in Papua

According to authorities, a helicopter aircraft from New Zealand was killed in Papua, Indonesia, on October 20.

Glen Malcolm Conning, 50, was killed by a pro-independence group known as Free Papua Organisation ( OPM), according to police.

Sebby Sambom, an OPM spokeswoman, told the BBC that he had been unable to verify the Indonesian government ‘ assertions.

It comes nearly a year and a half after the suicide of another pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mehrtens, who remains in prison.

According to authorities, Mr. Mehrtens is being held by the same organization that was responsible for Mr. Conning’s suicide.

Mr Conning was killed when insurgents rounded up those on board the plane, including four people, after they landed in an isolated place in the Central Papua province, authorities said in a statement. There is a report of safety for the customers.

The pilot’s figure was transported to the helicopter, according to the police spokesperson for the specific operation in Papua, Bayu Suseno, and the helicopter was burned along with the plane in Alama District, which is restricted to helicopter access.

For a personal corporation, Mr. Conning was boarding people.

Although he could not independently verify the claims, OPM official Mr. Sambom claimed that if it were true because the place had been designated as a war zone, the captain is a spy.

In February 2023, separatist soldiers in Indonesia’s Papua place took another New Zealand pilot prisoner. Soon after landing his aircraft in a remote mountainous region of Nduga to collect passengers, Phillip Mehrtens, 37, was apprehended.

At least one of Mr. Mehrtens ‘ injuries have been reported to the West Papua National Liberation Army ( TPNPB), which is the armed wing of the OPM, who also attacked several Indonesian troops dispatched to rescue him, killing at least one.

These angry works occur in the wake of a protracted, frequently savagely violent conflict between the Indonesian authorities and the indigenous people of West Papua.

The Indonesian rebels have long sought freedom from Indonesia, and they have previously threatened and attacked plane they believe are carrying both personnel and supplies to Jakarta, the nation’s capital.

The area is divided into two regions, Papua and West Papua, and is distinct from impartial Papua New Guinea.

Recently a French settlement, West Papua declared freedom in 1961. In a UN-supervised voting in 1969, Indonesia publicly assumed command two years later.

Just about 1, 000 Papuans participated in the UN voting, which is commonly accepted to be illegal. A pro-independence action began immediately afterwards, which continues to this day.