It wasn't just the lives of 50 innocent people who went to pray on a Friday afternoon that were lost during the Christchurch mosque attacks. The ripple effect of this tragic day is causing further sorrow and broken hearts.
The mother of one of the victims travelled from Jordan to New Zealand to attend her son's funeral, and died a day later, New Zealand Herald reported.
Saud Abdelfattah Mhaisen Adwan attended a memorial held for her son, Kamel Darwish, on Friday. The 38-year-old father of three was killed during the mosque shootings.
On Saturday, the mother suffered a fatal heart attack, an official from the Sydney-based Jordanian Embassy said. Speaking to local media outlets, Yasser Mohammad, a family friend, explained that the 65-year-old woman was unable to handle the heartbreaking loss of her son.
"She came yesterday to attend the funeral. Apparently this morning she passed away because she couldn't put up with the sorrow and sadness of losing her son," he stated.
Jordanian authorities are now arranging for the woman's coffin to be taken back home. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying they've offered to cover the costs of the extradition process.
Adwan's deceased son was a dairy farm worker who moved to New Zealand last year to join his older brother who was already based there.
His wife and children had applied for a visa to join him in the country, but he was unfortunately killed before the family could reunite.
Unfortunately, this isn't the only similar case to be reported in the past few days
Family members of those who died in the terrorist shootings were left in extreme distress.
Manal Al-Harbi, the wife of Mohsin Al-Harbi - a 61-year-old Saudi victim of the massacres - "was so distressed as she searched for him that she collapsed with a heart attack and was taken to hospital in a critical condition."