Christchurch shootings: First funerals for victims of mosque attacks

The first funerals are taking place for victims of the New Zealand mosque shootings that left 50 people dead.

Volunteers have descended on Christchurch to assist with the burial process and support victims’ families.

Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be buried as soon as possible, but the burials have been delayed by the scale of the identification process.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with murder.

Christchurch city officials issued strict guidance to the media ahead of Wednesday’s funerals and requested that the families be left alone.

“The body will be brought on site, taken to a private marquee that has been set up as a family area,” a council spokeswoman said.

“After a short time for prayers, family and friends will carry the body to the grave site where it will be laid to rest,” she added.

What are the latest developments?

Police on Tuesday said the bodies of six victims had now been released to families, 12 bodies had been formally identified and all 50 post-mortem examinations were complete.

But some families expressed frustration with the delayed identification process. Mohamed Safi, 23, whose father Matiullah Safi died at the Al Noor mosque, complained about the lack of information.

He told AFP news agency: “They are just saying they are doing their procedures… Why do I not know what you are going through to identify the body?”

In a statement on Tuesday, the police said: “[We] are acutely aware of frustrations by families associated with the length of time required for the identification process following Friday’s terror attack.

“We are doing all we can to undertake this work as quickly as possible and return the victims to their loved ones.”

New Zealand’s immigration service said it was processing visas for the families of the victims seeking to come from abroad to attend funerals.

source bbc