Virender Sehwag offers to provide free education to children of deceased in Odisha train crash

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag pledged to support the education of children impaired by the horrendous train crash in Odisha.

On Friday, June 2, three trains - the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Express, and a goods train collided near Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district of the Indian state of Odisha.

Immediate rescue operations were carried out, with 288 people reported dead and over 1000 injured, as per the latest reports on Sunday (June 4).

Many people expressed solidarity with the victims of the train crash and some even managed to reach the accident spot to lend their helping hand in different capacities.

Virender Sehwag, who played 374 international matches for the Indian men's team for nearly 14 years, has promised to bear the costs of education for the children of the deceased in the train crash.

The cricketer-turned-commentator shared an image of the tragic incident on his Twitter profile and captioned his post:

"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."

Indian cricketers show support to victims of train crash

Many top-ranked Indian cricketers expressed their grief towards the victims of the Odisha train accident. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane and many others tweeted about the shocking incident.

"Saddened to hear about the tragic train accident in Odisha. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost their loved ones and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured," tweeted former India captain Virat Kohli.

"My heart goes out to each and everyone affected by the train accident in Odisha. May God give strength to the grieving families & wishing a swift recovery to those injured," wrote India skipper Rohit Sharma on his Twitter handle.

The recent train disaster is the most devastating train accident in India after the Avadh Assam Express collided with the Brahmaputra Mail at Gaisal railway station (North Dinapur) in 1999. 285 people had lost their life in that accident.