Former Indian cricket team opener Virender Sehwag took to social media to offer his condolences to the victims of the Odisha train tragedy and he even announced that his school will be offering free education and boarding facility to children who lost parents in the accident. He posted a picture of the accident with the caption – “This image will haunt us for a long time. In this hour of grief, the least I can do is to take care of education of children of those who lost their life in this tragic accident. I offer such children free education at Sehwag International School's boarding facility”.
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.
(With PTI inputs)