Air New Zealand is mourning a popular employee and father-of-two who was killed in the Christchurch terror attacks.
Lilik Abdul Hamid worked in Christchurch as an aircraft maintenance engineer for 16 years. He was in the Deans Ave Mosque on Friday and died in the massacre that killed 49 others.
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He is mourned by his wife Nina and children Zhania and Gerin, as well as many who worked with him over his long and respected career.
Stan Renwick, national organiser for the Aviation and Marine Engineers Association (AMEA), told Newshub the union feels "deep regret and deep sorrow" at Hamid's death.
"Knowing the folks in Christchurch, they will obviously rally around and offer as much support as they possibly can to Lilik's family," he says. "They'll be supportive of one another, but they'll take it fairly hard. My understanding is Lilik was a very popular young fella."
He says when Hamid's fellow Air NZ colleagues first heard he was missing, they "presented themselves to the family home and offered whatever assistance they could".
AMEA is also offering its support to the "well-liked" mechanic's relatives.
"If there's anything our organisation can do to assist, all they need to do is contact us either via email or via phone. We'll make ourselves available to offer what services we can."
Renwick says Hamid was a valued colleague and member of the Air NZ family.
"[Hamid] was highly thought of by his workmates and considered one of the boys, which is the biggest compliment you could pay to those boys down there."
AMEA has joined the rest of New Zealand in condemning Friday's attacks, for which a 28-year-old man has been remanded in custody.
"Like the rest of the country, the association views what happened as absolutely deplorable and we offer our sympathies to all Muslims in New Zealand that have been affected by this tragedy," Renwick says.
Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon has also expressed his sorrow at Hamid's murder, saying in a statement that "his loss will be deeply felt by the team".
Newshub.
