Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and their fellow teammates narrowly escaped the death trap in a Christchurch mosque where a gunman opened fire killing several people.

The team were on a bus that was pulling up to the Al Noor mosque near Hagley Oval for Friday prayers when the shooting began, reports Reuters.

Team Tigers were a bit late to reach the mosque to offer prayers as they started for the Christchurch mosque after their practice session.

The delay, in the end contributed to them avoid the shooting, and when they were about to enter the mosque, a local woman cautioned them about the situation. The players, immediately rushed back to Hagley Oval, from where they were escorted to their hotel with added security.

“All members of the Bangladesh Cricket Team in Christchurch, are safely back in the hotel following the incident of shooting in the city. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is in constant contact with the players and team management,” an official tweet by the BCB read.

Team Manager Khaled Masud Pilot said from New Zealand, “The boys are shaken but safe.”

The shooting forced the cancellation of a test match against hosts New Zealand and BCB is trying to put the team on a return flight to Bangladesh at the earliest.