Indians join in prayers for lost astronauts
Aerospace engineer Kalpana Chawla, a symbol of pride for Indians, was one of the seven-member crew aboard the shuttle that broke up as it prepared to return to Earth after completing a 16-day mission. NASA said there appeared to be no survivors.
As news of the tragedy reached Chawla's hometown of Karnal, a wheat and rice-growing centre just outside the capital New Delhi, people streamed out of their homes to pray for Chawla and her six crewmates.
