The crash happened as the train was passing over the curved Fiumarella viaduct, about an hour after departing from Soveria Mannelli for Catanzaro at 6:43 a.m.

The trailer derailed from the track, due to the rupture of the tram type draw hook, and plunged into the river below after a falling about 40 m (131 ft).

[2] The conclusions reached by the Commission of Inquiry were that the derailment and subsequent rupture of the traction hook had been caused by excessive speed (63 km/h) compared to the 35 km/h allowed due to the poor condition of the armament in the stretch in question.

[5] Rail traffic on the line remained disrupted for years, and between Catanzaro and Soveria Mannelli it was temporarily replaced by road vehicles.

At Decollatura, place of origin of a substantial number of the victims, a monument was erected in memory of the fallen.