Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said a travel alert has been issued for all Bangladeshis intent on travelling to New Zealand, urging them make inquiries on the situation there before travelling.
The travel alert was issued by the Bangladesh High Commission in Australia on Friday, March 15, the day of a terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that left 50 people dead, the foreign minister said during a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Monday. State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque were also present at the media briefing.
Also Read- Bangladeshi death toll in NZ rises to five
According to the foreign minister, Five Bangladeshi nationals are among those killed in Friday’s attack, while three others were injured and one is missing. The deceased are Dr Abdus Samad, Hosne Ara Ahmed, Omar Faruk, Mozammel Haque, and Zakaria Bhuiyan. The injured are Lipi, Mutassim, and Sheikh Hasan Rubel.
Among the injured Bangladeshi nationals, Lipi is still in critical condition and the two others are out of danger.
The foreign minister also said the Christchurch attack had been discussed in a meeting of the cabinet.
He further said the ministry had appointed an official for providing assistance to the families of the victims who lost their lives in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
The official will help the relatives of victims with the services needed to go to New Zealand to retrieve the bodies of the deceased.
Earlier, the government of New Zealand decided to hand over the bodies of Bangladeshi victims to their family members. One member of each of the deceaseds' families will be allowed to fly to New Zealand to retrieve the bodies.
The official appointed to assist relatives of victims is Md Walid Bin Qasem, assistant secretary (Welfare) of the Consular & Welfare Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His phone number is 01713111227, and his email address is [email protected].
In order to obtain a visa for New Zealand, family members of the victims can apply online and, upon completion of the visa application, he or she may contact the aforementioned official. The online visa application website is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/family-members-of-mosque-incident.
Also Read- New Zealand terror attack kills 49, critically injures 20
On Friday, a gunman opened fire in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing at least 50 and injuring more than 20 others.
The gunman broadcast live footage on Facebook of the attack, after publishing a "manifesto" in which he denounced immigrants, calling them "invaders."
The attack took place minutes before the Bangladesh national cricket team arrived at one of the mosques.
