PARADIP: A 60-year-old retired engineer of Paradip Port and his wife were killed after their car fell into a water-filled pit along National Highway-53 near Biju Patnaik market complex chowk under Paradip Lock police limits in the small hours of Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Bibhuti Bhusan Das, a retired junior engineer of the Marine department of Paradip Port Authority (PPA), and his wife Pratima Das (55).
Sources said the couple had gone to a relative’s house at Paradipgarh to attend a feast on Tuesday night. They were returning to Paradip by car when the mishap took place around 2 am.
Das was driving the car while his wife was seated in the front. A cargo-laden truck approached their vehicle when they were attempting to enter the Chandikhole-Paradip NH-53 from a connecting road. Das reportedly gave way to the truck but lost control of his car. The car veered off the road and fell into the pit near the ARSS company storage area where construction work for expansion of the highway was underway.
As the pit was brimming with rainwater, the car flipped. The vehicle reportedly remained upside down, with its wheels above the water and its roof submerged. Trapped inside the vehicle, the couple could not escape.
As the accident occurred late at night, there was no immediate help available. After nearly two to three hours, labourers engaged in construction work noticed the vehicle and alerted police.
Paradip Lock police rushed to the spot and rescued the couple with the help of locals. They were taken to Atharbanki community health centre where doctors declared them brought dead. Police said the preliminary medical report indicated suffocation as the cause of death.
Additional SP Ajinkya Mane said the bodies were seized and sent to Kujang hospital for postmortem. “An unnatural death case has been registered and investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances leading to the fatal accident,” he added.
Das had retired from the post of junior engineer in the PPA Marine department last month.