Tumkuru (Karnataka), Feb 20 (IANS): Two persons died while 40 others were injured when a private bus, carrying a marriage party, lost its balance and fell into a roadside ditch in Karnataka's Tumkuru on Friday, police said.

The police said the accident occurred on the Sira-Bukkapatna state highway.

The deceased were identified as Krishnamurhty, 42, and his wife Bhagyamma, 35, and all injured are residents of Shambhonahalli Gollarahatti hamlet near Tovinakere of Koratagere taluka.

The police said all the people were travelling from Bukapatna to take part in a small post-wedding ceremony that was organised by the bride's village in Sira.

The police said that Bukapatna-Sira highway has been relaid recently but in some patches, repair work is going on. "Construction of bridge work is in full swing and in this spot, the road becomes quite narrow... the bus perhaps was overspeeding, due to which it has lost its balance and fell into roadside ditch," an investigation officer said.

The injured have been shifted to the hospitals in Sira and Bengaluru.

"As many as 40 persons who sustained injuries have been rushed to the Sira government hospital and 11 of them with multiple fractures were referred to the district general hospital," the police said.