Former India captain Virat Kohli and Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, among several other sportspersons, expressed their anguish over the devastating train accident in Odisha's Balasore district, that has killed at least 238 people and injured more than 900. The train crash on Friday, involving the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train, is one of the deadliest such accidents since independence.
Officials in Bhubaneswar said 200 ambulances, 50 buses and 45 mobile health units were working at the accident site, besides 1,200 personnel. The bodies were being taken to the hospitals in all kinds of vehicles, including tractors.
Kohli, who is in England with the India team for the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval from June 7, wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
India's first individual Olympic gold medallist, rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra, he had been left heartbroken by the news of the accident.
The train crash, the fourth deadliest in India according to available records, happened near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Balasore district, about 250km south of Kolkata and 170km north of Bhubaneswar, around 7 pm on Friday, prompting the Railway Ministry to order a probe.
India cricketer Shreyas Iyer called the visuals coming from Balasore "shocking".
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag paid his condolences to the families who lost their near-and-dear ones.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan termed it a "heart-wrenching news".
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)