Susi Air Owner Concerned for Pilot, Passengers Safety Amid Hostage Situation in Papua
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8 February 2023 14:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti expressed her deepest concern for the missing pilot and passengers of the Susi Air plane which landed at an airport in Nduga, Papua. The New Zealand pilot and passengers are reportedly taken hostage by local separatists while the plane itself has been burned on the airport runway.
Susi Pudjiastuti in her Tweet on Tuesday asked for prayers and support from the public. “I urge for prayers and support. In the name of humanity. We dearly hope the pilot and passengers of the plane are safe.”
National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Tuesday said the Cartenz Peace Operation team in Papua will be mobilized to rescue the missing pilot and passengers of a Susi Air aircraft that was found burned at an airport in the Paro District, Papua.
“We are searching for the pilot and passengers that were taken by the armed criminal groups (KKB). A joint team from the Cartenz Peace Operation is currently looking for them. We will announce the results after there are developments,” said the national police chief in a press conference on February 7.
The aircraft was piloted by New Zealand national Philips Max Marthin and carried five passengers from the Mozes Kilangin Airport in the Mimika Regency.
The Papuan armed criminal group led by Egianus Kogoya, which is the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB), claimed responsibility for the incident. They said that the pilot and passengers had been taken hostage as the plane just landed at the Paro Airport in the Nduga Regency, Papua highlands.
In a written statement, the spokesperson for the Papuan armed criminal group, Sebby Sambom, said the aircraft was burned by a team led by Egianus Kogoya, who is considered to be one of the organization’s commanders.
The TPNPB-OPM also said that this incident marks the second time it had happened - which includes the act of taking hostages – ever since the armed criminal group existed in the region in 1996.
RR ARIYANI | EKA YUDHA
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