Washington: Hundreds of people attended a community gathering at the Sri Siva Vishnu temple in Washington on February 2 to pray for the souls of the seven astronauts, including India-born Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

Tributes were paid to Chawla for her courage and speakers described her as a role model for young people.

India's Ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh said he spoke to Chawla's father, who had come to America for what was expected to be a happy occasion of her return from her second space mission. Mansingh said the astronaut's father was taking his loss philosophically and said it was "destiny".

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador-at-large Bhishma K Agnihotri said he was "saddened" by Chawla's untimely death.

"We are proud of Kalpana Chawla's contribution and achievements in furthering the development of space technology and research in USA. We are saddened by the sudden and irreparable loss," he said in a statement.

Agnihotri offered condolences on behalf of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin to Chawla's family.

Chawla and six other astronauts, including an Israeli, died on February 1 when the Columbia disintegrated on its re-entry into earth's atmosphere, minutes before it was to land.

PTI