SAMBALPUR: Six members of a family returning from a wedding were killed after the vehicle they were travelling in swerved into Sason Canal in the wee hours of Friday.
All the deceased belonged to Baddhara village under Lakhanpur block in Jharsuguda.
They were returning from a wedding in Paramanpur village of Sambalpur when the incident took place at around 2 am under Sason police limits.
The exact cause has not been ascertained yet but it is being suspected that the driver might have dozed off.
After getting the information, police along with fire personnel reached the spot and launched a rescue operation.
There were nine people in the vehicle.
Six died in the mishap.
Two have been admitted to the Sambalpur District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).
The deceased have been identified as Ajit Khamari, Subal Bhoi, Sumant Bhoi, Umakanta Bhoi, Saroj Seth and Dibya Loha.
Sub Divisional Police Officer, PK Sahu said though the six deceased have been identified, police are yet to ascertain who the driver of the vehicle was and whether he drowned or fled the spot.