Paradip: A retired Paradip Port employee and his wife died after their car overturned and plunged into a water-filled ditch near Gad Gate Bazaar on National Highway 53 under Paradip Lock police station in Jagatsinghpur district early Wednesday, police said.
The deceased were identified as Bibhuti Das and his wife Prabhati Das.
Bibhuti had worked in the marine department of Paradip Port and retired August 31, according to local sources.
The couple had travelled to Gad Gate area Tuesday night to visit a relative.
They were returning to their quarters at Nuabazar in the wee hours of Wednesday when the mishap occurred.
According to preliminary information, the accident took place at a bend connecting Gad village with the NH.
The car veered too far to the left, fell from the roadside drain and overturned in a water-filled pit.
Locals spotted the submerged vehicle early Wednesday and alerted Paradip Lock police who recovered the car and found the couple inside.
They were taken to the nearby Government Biju Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Police seized the vehicle and began an investigation.