It was just another fine day in the beautiful city of Christchurch in New Zealand when a bunch of Bangladesh team members decided to visit Masjid Al Noor mosque to offer Friday prayers. Next, they were scheduled to hit the nets ahead of the final Tests against the Kiwis on Saturday.
However, the visitors ended up praying for their own lives as they narrowly escaped a terror attack inside the mosque which is close to the Hagley Oval ground.
The team bus was barely metres away from the mosque when the players first heard gunshots. They waited inside the bus and could see the victims of the shootout pouring out of the mosque, some of them covered in blood.
Describing the horrifying scene, Bangladesh Team Manager Khaled Mashud Pilot said,
“We were around 16-17 people on the bus while just 2 of us stayed at the hotel. We were on our way to offer Namaz and as soon as our bus went close to the mosque, the entire view seemed like a movie scene. People drenched in blood were coming out of the premises.
“We remain seated on the bus for at least 8-10 minutes. We kept our heads low just to avoid any dangerous situation.
“We never wish for such unfortunate incidents to happen in any country across the world. We are extremely that we escaped safely. If we had been there a few minutes early, a massive accident could have occurred,” Mashud added.
The ghastly terror attack at two mosques in Christchurch took at least 40 lives and left at least 20 injured. It also led to a premature end to the Bangladesh cricket team’s tour of New Zealand.