New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed from more than 18 months in captivity in Indonesia’s Papua, the Indonesian police said in a statement on Saturday.

A New Zealand pilot who has been freed more than 19 months after being taken hostage by separatists in Indonesia says he is "very happy" to be going home to his family. Philip Mehrtens was kidnapped by West Papua National Liberation Army fighters in February 2023 and was released after lengthy negotiations into the care of Indonesian officials on Saturday.

Indonesian authorities said Saturday the New Zealand pilot who’s been held hostage for more than a year in the restive Papua region has been freed by separatist rebels.