Chandipur, July 13: A bus with resoled tyres plunged into a roadside ditch this morning, killing at least six people and injuring many here in East Midnapore.

The deaths were apparently caused by drowning under eight feet of water. There were three children among the six.

Coast Guard divers were called from Haldia, 70km away, to see if more bodies were stuck in the muck below.

“We are probing whether the bus skidded because of the resoled tyres or its brakes failed. We have not found the driver,” said district superintendent of police P.K. Ghosh.

An officer of the local Chandipur police station said it was illegal to use resoled tyres and a case would be started against the owner of the bus.

The government launched a drive against resoled tyres after 12 people were killed in a minibus fall off a bridge over train tracks in Howrah on July 4. Police officers said adding a new strip of rubber to frayed and weak tyres made them prone to mishaps.

Those killed today were identified as Sabita Maity, 25, her two-month-old son Gaur, 18-month-old Raj Mondal, nine-month-old Nibedita Maity, and schoolteacher Samir Kumar Rana. The sixth victim, a man of around 50, is yet to be identified.

Sabita was returning from her parents’ house with her son and daughter. Mamoni, 5, was pulled out by villagers through smashed windows.

Shristidhar Shi, who was accompanying his daughter Sabita and grandchildren, said from his hospital bed: “The bus was filled with water and we struggled hard to keep our heads above water.”

Farm labourer Susanta Pradhan said he saw the bus fall while trying to swerve to the left to give passage to a truck coming from the opposite direction.