Bodies of two Bangladeshis killed in NZ mosque shooting reach Dhaka

The bodies of two Bangladeshis killed in the Christchurch mosques shooting earlier this month have been returned home to their grieving families, relatives said late Tuesday.

The bodies of Zakaria Bhuiyan, a welder, and Omar Faruk, a builder, arrived at Dhaka airport on a Singapore Airlines flight from New Zealand.

Bhuiyan and Faruk were praying at the Al Noor Mosque when an Australian white supremacist opened fire on worshippers, killing 43.

Another seven were murdered at a separate mosque when the shooter turned his weapon on Muslims there, in the worst violence of its kind ever seen in New Zealand.

Five Bangladeshis were killed in the massacre and many others were injured.

The grieving relatives, who came from outside the capital to receive the bodies, rented mortuary vans to take the bodies home.

Bhuiyan's uncle Qari Ullah said the family would arrange funeral prayers for his nephew at his village in central Narsingdi district.

"His family is quite poor. He died when they were only starting to dream of financial solvency. Only Allah knows what will happen now," Ullah told AFP in tears.

Faruk's body was also taken by his relatives to his home in Narayanganj district where he will be laid to rest.

An AFP photographer at the scene saw the relatives tearfully receiving the coffins from the airline and leaving for their homes.

The body of Mozammel Haque, another Bangladeshi killed in the heinous attack, is expected to arrive in Bangladesh on Wednesday, a Bangladeshi official told reporters.