Updated
The Bangladeshi Test cricket team has been caught up in a deadly mass shooting in Christchurch, fleeing from outside a mosque where they had gone for prayers.
Key points:
- The Bangladesh cricket team was on tour in New Zealand and was set to play the third and final Test in Christchurch
- The team was caught up in a mass shooting that happened during Friday prayers at a mosque near the Hagley Oval cricket ground
- Players ran through Hagley Park to get back to the ground, and later tweeted that they were frightened but safe
The attacks began around 1:40pm local time when witnesses say an armed shooter entered the Masjid Al Noor mosque on Deans Avenue and started firing.
Police said a shooter also entered another mosque at Linwood Avenue, and confirmed there had been multiple fatalities.
ESPN Cricinfo reporter Mohammad Isam filmed members of the Bangladesh team hurrying away from the mosque through Hagley Park after the incident.
Isam said the team had been on a bus that had gone to the mosque around the time of the attack.
Barred from getting off the bus, they waited for several minutes before escaping the vehicle and running back through the park to the nearby oval.
Members of the team posted to Twitter after the incident to confirm they had escaped from the shootings.
Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal tweeted: “Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers #christchurchMosqueAttack”
In a statement, the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed that they had been in constant contact with the players and team management.
“All members of the Bangladesh cricket team in Christchurch, New Zealand are safely back in the hotel following the incident of shooting in the city,” the board said in the statement on social media.
The team has been in New Zealand for more than a month, playing three one-day internationals ahead of a three-Test series.
There is no official word on whether the third Test, due to begin at Hagley Oval on Saturday morning, will go ahead as scheduled.
The New Zealand Herald has reported a spokesman for the Black Caps saying that New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White would call off the match shortly.
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