‘Dead people everywhere’ as desperate ran for cover

THOSE who survived the Christchurch attack have shared harrowing stories of how they dodged bullets and watched their loved ones die right in front of them.

Ahmad Al-Mahmoud, 37, described how the rampage happened suddenly as shooter Brenton Tarrant burst into the mosque and opened fire.

“He (had) a big gun and a lot of bullets and he came through and he started shooting everyone in the mosque, like everywhere,” he reportedly said.

“And they had to smash the door, the glass in the small door, and everyone tried to get out — so we were trying to get everyone to run away from the area.”

There were 49 people who did not escape, including the wife of one man who had to be held back from her motionless body by a group of friends.

Among the tragedy there were several acts of heroics.

Zinzan Hawke, who lives with three flatmates near the mosque, woke to chaos and rushed to help a male shooting victim in his front garden.

“It’s just human nature to help someone in that situation,” he told reporters at the scene.

“I had to deal with that really quickly considering I just woke up. We called an ambulance and police and I applied pressure to the wound.”

Another man said he found dead bodies lined in a hallway leading into the mosque after he heard gunshots and ran to help.

“I saw dead people everywhere. There were three in the hallway, at the door leading into the mosque, and people inside the mosque,” he said.