Two Indians among 49 killed in New Zealand terror attack

A Keralite woman and a software engineer from Hyderabad were among the 49 people killed in the Christchurch terror attacks.

"Death of Anshi Karippakulam (27) has been confirmed and her family has been intimated," a top police official told PTI.

A man from Hyderabad, who was missing since Friday following the "well-planned" terror attack on Al Noor mosque in Christchurch in New Zealand, has been declared dead by the authorities in New Zealand on Saturday.

The deceased, named Farhaj Ahsan, went to the mosque for Friday's prayers but went missing after the attacks.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased are planning to go to New Zealand. Nobody was willing to speak to the media amid the sad reports of Ashan's death.

Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his Facebook post, termed as shocking, the news that a Kodungallur native was among those who were killed in the terror attack in New Zealand.

"We have been trying to contact the embassy through Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department (NORKA-ROOTS) to gather more information. 
We share the grief of the family," Vijayan said.

According to reports, the woman was pursuing her MTech at a university there.

Her husband Abdul Nazer hails from Kochi.

Television channels also aired a visual of a man purportedly saying he was from Moovattupuzha in the State and that he had a narrow escape.

"I had come to the mosque along with a friend. I had a phone call and suddenly heard gunshots and saw a man shooting people and entering the mosque," the man is heard saying in the footage.

He also said he and his friend had a "narrow and lucky escape."

Mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers killed 49 people in New Zealand.

(With inputs from PTI & ANI)