Vijayawada: A doctor couple from Machilipatnam in Krishna district, died after a small plane they were flying crashed into a retention pond in southeastern Ohio of the United States.
The deceased were identified as Umamaheswara Rao Kalapatapu (63) and his wife Sitha Gita Kalapatapu (61), both psychiatrists who owned a chain of hospitals called Raj clinics across Lafayette, Logansport, Kokomo, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.
Lt Richard Chesar of the Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed on Tuesday that the Kalapatapu couple died in a plane crash.
The US authorities said Umamaheswara Rao was piloting the Piper Archer PA-28 aircraft from Cass County, Indiana, towards Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The plane lost contact with air traffic control (ATC) at around 10.30 am on Saturday and its wreckage was later found 75 miles southeast of Columbus in the country .
The US authorities further said the plane lay in the retention pond for hours and they recovered both the bodies.
The clinics owned by the deceased were closed indefinitely shortly after the news of the crash was announced.
"The plane landed almost in the middle of the retention pond," Richard Chesar is quoted as saying to reporters near the crash site.
"Beverly Volunteer fire department and Little Hocking fire department used scuba divers to retrieve the plane and the bodies of the couple," he added.
The cause of the plane crash continues to remain a mystery and Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
