JAKARTA – Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small commercial plane on fire when it landed in a remote highland area on Tuesday (Feb 7) , a pro-independence group said in a statement.

A police spokesman in Papua province, Mr Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said the authorities were investigating the incident, and police and military personnel had been sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers.

“We cannot send many personnel there because Nduga is a difficult area to reach. We can go there only by plane,” he said.

Military spokesman Herman Taryaman said the pilot had been identified as Captain Philip Merthens, and it was unclear if the five passengers had also been abducted.

The plane operated by Susi Air landed safely early on Tuesday morning before it was attacked by rebel fighters, the authorities said.

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement seen by Reuters, saying the pilot would not be released until the Indonesian government acknowledged 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 the group had taken a hostage. The first incident was in 1996.

The New Zealand embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Indonesia’s easternmost provinces have been mired in a low-level battle for independence since the resource-rich region was controversially brought under Indonesian control in a vote overseen by the United Nations in 1969.

The conflict has escalated significantly since 2018, with pro-independence fighters mounting deadlier and more frequent attacks.

The increased intensity of these attacks has been enabled by an improved ability to obtain more weapons, including by raiding and stealing from army posts, making cross-border purchases and through the illegal sale of government-issued weapons, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict said in a report in 2022.

Susi Air founder and former fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said on Twitter that she was praying for the safety of the pilot and passengers.