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Bangladeshi drummer Tamim Iqbal relived Friday's tragic events in Christchurch, as he and his teammates were just minutes from the line of fire in a shootout that killed at least 49 people.
Team members from Bangladesh were traveling by bus to Hagley Oval on the eve of the third test (which has since been canceled) to go to Al Noor Mosque in downtown Christchurch, but their departure scheduled at 1:30 pm was delayed by a few minutes because of the captain's press conference and an impromptu match of American football between Taijul Islam and Mushfiqur Rahim.
"These little things saved us in the end," Tamim told ESPN journalist Mohammad Isam, who attended the press conference and was also trapped in the aftermath of the shooting.
"I still sit in the sixth seat on the left.When we approached the mosque, everyone on my right began to see something through the window." I saw that a body lay on the floor. " Of course, we thought that he was either drunk or had fainted. So, the bus continued and stopped near the mosque. But everyone's attention remained with this man lying on the ground.
"Meanwhile, my attention turned to another man, bloody and about to fall.
"Panic will be installed at this time.
"Our bus stopped in front of a car near the mosque, we saw that the bus driver was talking to a woman who was trembling and crying literally, saying:" There are gunshots, do not leave, do not go away.
"Our bus driver said that these men were going to the mosque and she said," No, no, do not go to the mosque. This is happening in the mosque ".
"She started crying, everyone heard and saw her, and we started to panic a bit more, at which point we were about 20 meters from the mosque. get off the bus and walk to the mosque.
"We saw bodies still bleeding around the mosque."
Tamim detailed the following "six or seven minutes" during which panic broke out within the team, which resulted in the arrival of the police and the demands of the players of the squad. let go of the bus, lest it become a "big target".
"Just then, for some reason, the driver took the bus 10 meters away," he continued. "I do not know why he did that, we were about to break in. Everyone lost it, we started banging the door in the middle and we kicked that door. opened the door.
"Everyone said," Let's run in the park. "Someone said we were becoming easier targets in the park, and what if the shooters noticed us and started firing?
"The second thing that really scared us was the police reaction when we saw ourselves running with bags, etc. At that time, I saw you three (Isam and the other journalists Utpal Shuvro and Mazhar Uddin I did not realize that then, last night, I realized how much you took a huge risk: very few people on Earth will take that risk.
"In fact, I was relieved when I saw you, and then we all started walking, and by the time we had traveled a good distance, everyone started to run to the ground. "
Since then, the Bangladesh team has returned home safely. The final test of the series was canceled and New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern condemned the attack in two of the city's mosques.
The tragedy caused a wave of grief for those who lost their lives and support for the affected families, while Tamim said she would live in the minds of Bangladesh players for "a long time".
"You know, you saw death with your own eyes," he says. "Your body is cold, it was something we will never forget.
"It's such a thing, it's getting worse by the hour, we've talked to a lot of my teammates and everyone is talking about it.
"The good thing is that everyone still has a small smile, but trust me, inside, everyone is broken.
"One thing is certain, it will take a long time to finish, I hope the families will help us, we may need advice, I close my eyes and see these scenes.
"When we went to the airport, we told ourselves that if something went wrong, it was our corpses, not us, to go home.
"It was just a matter of 30 seconds."
Read the full story of Tamim Iqbal here
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