Six migrants drowned Friday when their bus fell into an irrigation canal in southeastern Turkey, the local governor's office said.

Five others were injured and 25 rescued in the accident, which occurred about 15 kilometres (10 miles) north of the Syrian border.

The migrants' nationalities were not immediately clear.

One local news report said the accident happened while the bus driver was trying to flee local security forces who were looking out for illegal border crossings.

Turkey is home to the world's largest refugee population, offering shelter to more than five million people under a deal it reached to stem the European Union's migration crisis in 2016.