In a tragic incident, an Indian-American couple were killed after a small plane that they were flying, crashed into a retention pond in Southeastern Ohio in USA.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning, but their names were revealed by investigators on Monday.
The deceased were identified as Dr Umamaheswara Rao Kalapatapu and Dr. Sita Gita Rajyalakshmi, two practicing psychiatrists, who also owned ‘Raj Clinics’, according to reports
The couple were natives of Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and had been residing in Logansport, Indiana.
Referring to a press release by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Business Standard reported that Umamaheshwar Rao might have crashed their ‘Piper Archer PA-28’ flight between 10:36 am and 12:30 pm on Saturday, July 8.
However, the reason behind the crash is still unknown, with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the incident, News 18 reported.
"There is a retention pond, and it landed almost in the middle of it. Beverly Volunteer Fire Department and Little Hocking Fire Department were able to use scuba divers to retrieve the plane and the persons from the plane," a police officer told local media.
Their immediate family was informed of the accident.
Reports add that Dr Sitha was a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist, while Dr Umamaheswara, also a psychiatrist, was an avid aviation enthusiast and a licensed pilot.
Both were said to have graduated from Guntur Medical College in 1972.
The incident has left the couple’s friends and acquaintances in shock too, as their Facebook wall was filled with condolence messages.
India Today reported that Raj Clinics had several branches in places such as Logansport, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Lafayette and Kokomo.