Who are the victims of the New Zealand mosque shootings?

ADVERTISEMENT

Some of the victims of Friday's attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead and dozens wounded, have been identified by government officials.

Authorities started to return the bodies of victims to family members on Sunday, said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at a Sunday press conference.

Police said they shared a list of victims with the families but have not released it publicly. The victims were aged 3 to 77 and some were migrants from Jordan and Egypt, while others were New Zealanders.

Here are some of the people who have been reported as dead.

Naeem Rashid and Talha Naeem

Naeem Rashid, originally from Pakistan, was confirmed dead by prime minister Imran Khan in a Sunday tweet.

"Pakistan is proud of Mian Naeem Rashid who was martyred trying to tackle the White Supremacist terrorist and his courage will be recognised with a national award," wrote Khan.

In the video of the attack at the Al Noor mosque, Rashid is seen trying to stop the gunman. His brother, Kurshid Alam, told the BBC that he was proud of his brother for his heroic act.

"He was a brave person, and I've heard from a few people there, there were few witnesses… they've said he saved a few lives there by trying to stop that guy," Mr Alam told the BBC.

Talha Naeem, who was with father Naeem Rashid at the time of the attack, was also killed. Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed both their deaths in a tweet.

Four other Pakistanis confirmed dead by Pakistan

Sohail Shahid, Syed Jahandad Ali, Syed Areeb Ahmed and Haroon Mahmood were also confirmed dead by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Daoud Nabi

Daoud Nabi, 71, an engineer, was killed in the attack as he threw himself in front of another worshipper and was shot, his son Omar told NBC.

Nabi emigrated from Afghanistan to New Zealand when he was 6, after the Soviet Union invaded the country. His son Omar said that Daoud Nabi “helped everyone who’s a refugee,” going to the airport to greet newcomers and help get them started in their new lives. He had founded a mosque and became the president of a local Afghan association, and had nine grandchildren.

Lilik Abdul Hamid

Lilik Abdul Hamid, 58, an engineer for Air New Zealand, was confirmed dead by the airlines on Sunday. He was married with two children.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon said in a press release that the airline is devastated.

“Lilik has been a valued part of our engineering team in Christchurch for 16 years, but he first got to know the team even earlier when he worked with our aircraft engineers in a previous role overseas. The friendships he made at that time led him to apply for a role in Air New Zealand and make the move to Christchurch. His loss will be deeply felt by the team."

Ramiz Vora, Asif Vora, Ansi Alibava, Ozair Kadir and Maheboob Khokhar

The High Commission of India in New Zealand confirmed the deaths of 5 Indian nationals.

"With a very heavy heart we share the news of loss of precious lives of our 5 nationals in ghastly terror attack in Christchurch", the message read.

Bangladesh consular officials in New Zealand have said multiple people of Bangladeshi origins are among the victims but they have not released any details on their identities.