'This is the longest six you have hit' - Fans react as Virender Sehwag promises free education to children who lost their parents in Odisha train crash 

Virender Sehwag (Source: Twitter)

Legendary cricketer Virender Sehwag has promised to provide free education to the children who lost their parents in the horrific train accident in Odisha on Friday. The heartbreaking incident that claimed more than 275 lives left the nation in mourning. The former Indian opener on Sunday announced that the children of the accident victims would be given free education at the Sehwag International School in Gurugram.

"In this hour of grief, the least I can do is to take care of the 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,” Sehwag tweeted.

The collision which happened near Bahanaga railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday evening between two express passenger trains (Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express) and a stopped goods train also resulted in over 1,000 injuries. This is considered one of the worst train accidents in the last 20 years.

“Also salute all the brave men and women who have been at the forefront of the rescue operations and the medical team and volunteers who have been voluntarily donating blood. We are together in this," Sehwag added.

Adani Group also offers free schooling to train crash victims

Sehwag's announcement comes after the Adani Group earlier announced that it would offer free schooling to children who lost parents in the country's deadliest train tragedy in decades.

"We are all deeply disturbed by the train accident in Odisha. We have decided that the Adani Group will take care of the school education of the innocents who have lost their parents in this accident. It is the joint responsibility of all of us to support the victims and their families and give a better tomorrow to the children," Adani Group Chairperson Gautam Adani said in a tweet.

Sehwag's incredible gesture has won hearts on social media, with many thanking him for lending a helping hand to the victims during this difficult time. Notably, this is not the first time the 44-year-old has come forward to help in such situations. He had promised to bear the education expenses of the children of all the CRPF jawans who died in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama.

Here's how Twitter reacted to Sehwag's beautiful gesture:

Hero on the field and off the field now 🫡

— Sajan Hussain (@iamsajanhussain) June 4, 2023

Salute to you veeru paaji 🫡

— Ronald Speirs (@KiGi_97) June 4, 2023

Phir se dil jeet liye aap ne 👏👏

— Naveen (@_naveenish) June 4, 2023

Commendable gesture, Viru bhai. 👍😊

— Dr. Devashish Palkar (@psychidiaries) June 4, 2023

Amazing gesture Viru Paji.

— Gufran (@Thegufrankhan) June 4, 2023

Nice to see, Veeru is playing on front foot. As expected. Very nice initiative. 👏 👏 👏

— Sourabh Sanyal 🇮🇳 (@sourabhsanyal) June 4, 2023

People like you can make the difference ❤️

— Gaurav Sahni (@Gauravgautamsah) June 5, 2023

At such times we need a ray of hope and bring up the overall consciousness from tragedy and despair... To one that where we look forward to the future with good things in heart.

God bless you for providing that hope 🙏

— Chetan Rambhia (@Breakout_wallah) June 5, 2023

This is an incredible gesture of generosity and humanity. It is truly humbling to see how the entire nation has come together in this time of immense sadness to help those that need it the most. We will overcome this tragedy together and be stronger in the future. 🙏

— Chandan Ganwani (@chandan_ganwani) June 4, 2023

Well played, Viru. Excellent gesture.
Nothing will replace the sadness that will stay in the families for a long time, hopefully these types of gestures will ease things a little.

— Rohit Gupta (@roh1) June 4, 2023