An Aussie helicopter pilot has been released after being kidnapped at gunpoint in Papua New Guinea’s highlands region, along with 2 local technicians. PNG Police Commissioner David Manning said the trio were taken during a planned stop by an “issue-motivated group“. But reports say after several hours of negotiations with the kidnappers, the Australian pilot and Papua New Guinean subcontractors were released without harm. The focus is now turning to the abductors – Manning says they’re “being tracked so they can face justice”. Kidnappings and violence are common in the region – last year, an Aussie professor was among a group of researchers who were taken hostage for a week before being safely released. And just last week, over 50 people were killed in a massacre in the area.