Christchurch terror attack: Death toll rises as Turkish man Zekeriya Tuyan dies from injuries 48 days after shooting

A Turkish citizen who was wounded in the Christchurch mosque shootings has died, bringing the death toll from the terror attacks to 51.

Zekeriya Tuyan, 46, died late last night, police confirmed this morning.

Tuyan, who was injured in the Al Noor Mosque during the March 15 attacks, had been in a critical condition in Christchurch Hospital since the shootings.

He was one of three Turkish citizens injured in the attacks.

"Police wish to extend their condolences to the man's family and loved ones," police said in a statement.


The Turkish Government said Zekeriya Tuyan died in hospital last night.

Turkey's foreign minister announced the death on Twitter overnight.

"Unfortunately, we have lost our citizen Zekeriya Tuyan who was seriously wounded in the treacherous terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand," Mevlut Cavusoglu posted.

The Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency said the father-of-two was wounded in the back and the leg and died on Thursday after undergoing surgery.

Tuyan's brother reportedly told Anadolu that Tuyan had been taken to surgery on Thursday, but he could not be saved.

"He had surgery today, they couldn't stop the bleeding so we lost him," he is reported as saying.

"We were happy because we thought it was going well, he had been battling for 50 days."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had strongly condemned the Christchurch attack and showed clips of a video taken by the gunman at election campaigns to denounce hatred against Islam.

Tuyan's death raises the death toll from the double mosque shooting to 51. Around 50 people were injured in the attack on two mosques during Friday prayers on March 15.

An Australian man who had been living in Dunedin has been charged with 50 counts of murder following the attack, and 39 charges of attempted murder.

This article was originally published on the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.

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