At 6.10am, the Matsyagandha Express passenger train, transporting commuters between Mangalore and Mumbai, was on a section of the Konkan Railway line between Veer and Karanjadi, when the engine ran headlong into the debris of a landslide caused by heavy monsoon rains, which had collapsed part of a hillside across the track, crushing steel nets put there to prevent such a fall.
Due to the hilly terrain, the driver was unable to see the obstruction until much too late, and the engine with eleven carriages derailed and fell some way down the hillside and off a bridge.
The same heavy rainfall that caused the crash dampened the wreckage, preventing a possible fire, which could have killed hundreds, as the injured survivors were forced to wait several hours until rescuers could arrive, again thanks to the difficult terrain.
The death toll for the crash was initially believed to be 14 dead with 115 injured, but removal of the wreckage uncovered six more bodies underneath.
30 of those injured were critically ill patients being transported to a hospital in Mumbai, although all are thought to have survived the crash.