“Our Mission and family members of the missing persons, currently in Christchurch, are assisting in this process,” he said.

A right-wing extremist who filmed himself on a shooting rampage flashed a white power gesture as he appeared in a Christchurch court on Saturday and was charged with murder.

Australian-born 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant stood in the dock wearing handcuffs and a white prison smock, as the judge read a single murder charge against him. A raft of further charges is expected.

The former fitness instructor and self-professed fascist occasionally turned to look at media present in court during the brief hearing that the public were excluded from for security reasons.

Flanked by armed police he made an upside-down “okay” signal, a symbol used by white power groups across the globe. He did not request bail and was taken into custody until his next court appearance which is scheduled for April 5.

A short distance from the court, 39 people were being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds and other injuries inflicted in the massacre.

The wounded included a two-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, who was in critical condition.

NZ mosque shootings

On March 15, a gunman opened fire inside the Masjid al Noor mosque during afternoon prayers, causing multiple fatalities.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the deadly mosque shootings in Christchurch had plunged the country into one of its “darkest days”.

“Clearly, what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” Ardern said in an address to a shocked nation.

“Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here,” Ardern said.

“They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not.” “They should have been in a safe environment,” she said.