New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed after more than 19 months in captivity in Indonesia's Papua and is on his way to be reunited with his family.

Mehrtens, a 38-year-old pilot from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air when he was abducted by rebels from a remote airport on February 7, 2023.

“Today I finally got out. I am so happy to be back home with my family soon,” Mehrtens told reporters in a news conference in the mining town of Timika. “Thank you to everyone who helped me get out safety and healthy.”

Mehrtens was handed over to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, the joint security force set up by the Indonesian government to deal with separatist groups in Papua, after separatist rebels let him walk free, taskforce spokesperson Bayu Suseno said.

“We managed to pick him up in good health,” Suseno said.

Mehrtens was flown to the mining town Timika for further health and psychological examination.

Television news earlier showed an emaciated, long-haired Mehrtens, wearing a dark-green shirt and black shorts, sitting in a room surrounded by police officers and local officials. He sobbed while talking to his family via video and an officer tried to calm him down by patting his back.

Phillip Mehrtens tearfully speaks with family after his release and, after a shave and a haircut, boards a plane to Jakarta. - Kompas TV via Reuters

He was later flown to Jakarta to be reunited with his family.Mehrtens did not appear to suffer any post-traumatic stress although he had lost a lot of weight, and he should be able to fly out of Papua soon, said Bambang Trisnohadi, a lieutenant general with the Indonesian military.An armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial Susi Air plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.

"We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya's close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot," said the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters confirmed Mehrtens’ release after 592 days in captivity.

“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,” Peters said in a written statement Saturday.

“This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones.”

Peters said a wide range of New Zealand government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others to secure the release for the past 19 1/2 months. Officials were also supporting Mehrtens’ family, Peters said.

Many news outlets showed “cooperation and restraint” in reporting the story, he added.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters is relieved by pilot Phillip Mehrtens release. - TVNZ via Reuters

“The case has taken a toll on the Mehrtens family, who have asked for privacy,” Peters said. “We ask media outlets to respect their wishes and therefore we have no further comment at this stage.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on social media platform X he was grateful Mehrtens had been released.

"My appreciation to all those in Indonesia and New Zealand who have supported this positive outcome for Phillip and his family," Luxon said.

ndonesia President Joko Widodo congratulated the military and police for prioritizing persuasion and safety.

“This was through a very long negotiation process and our patience not to do it repressively," Widodo said.

Independence fighters led by Egianus Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, stormed a single-engine plane on a small runway in Paro and abducted Mehrtens on February 7, 2023.

The Susi Air plane that Phillip Mehrtens was piloting before being torched by rebels. - TPNPB

Rebels have used violence to try to achieve independence amid the deteriorating security situation in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 under a United Nations-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the region. Conflict spiked in the past year, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed.

Kogoya initially said the rebels would not release Mehrtens unless Indonesia’s government allows Papua to become a sovereign country.

Suseno said that Mehrtens’ release was the result of hard work from a small task force team that had been communicating with the separatists led by Kogoya through the local church and community leaders, as well as youth figures.  “This is incredibly good news,” said Suseno.

 “Effort to free the pilot by soft approach resulted in a hostage release without any casualties both from security forces, civilians or the pilot himself.”