New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed after more than 18 months in captivity in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, according to a statement from Wellington’s foreign minister on Saturday. Mehrtens spoke at a press conference in Timika,

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who has been freed more than 1-1/2 years after being held hostage by a pro-independence group, is pictured, in Timika, Central Papua province, Indonesia, September 21, 2024. Indonesia's Police/Handout via REUTERS

The brother of freed Kiwi hostage Phillip Mehrtens is floored by the support from across the globe to help his pilot brother ease back into life with his young family. In February 2023, Phillip Mehrtens’s plane was attacked by rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region - who told him he may never be released and threatened to kill him.