The Indian cricket fraternity is mourning the tragic train accident in Odisha that occurred last night. The likes of Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, and Virender Sehwag took to their official Twitter accounts, expressed their sadness for the lives lost and people injured.
At least 238 people died and 650 sustained injuries as a passenger train collided with the derailed carriages of another railway in Odisha's Balasore on Friday evening. The crash involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a cargo train. It was one of the deadliest in modern Indian history. In light of the devastating train catastrophe, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has proclaimed a one-day state of mourning.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has offered compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those who perished in the disaster, Rs 2 lakh for those who were critically injured, and Rs 50,000 for those who had minor injuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, expressed his sadness over the accident and offered a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
The rescue operations have kickstarted at the accident site in Bahanga Bazar near Balasore to retrieve people trapped in the derailed coaches. According to NDTV, Odisha Chief Secretary Prapdeep revealed that Three NDRF units, 4 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force units, over 15 fire rescue teams, 30 doctors, 200 police personnel and 60 ambulances have been mobilised to the site. A few sources also conceded that Modi will visit the accident site and meet the injured people in Cuttack. He also called for a high-level meeting with the railway officials.
Meanwhile, here are the cricketers' reactions to the tragedy in Odisha:
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