At 9:03 local time (7:03 UTC), a two passenger coach Stadler GTW train, operated by STA Südtiroler, derailed in Kastelbell-Tschars after running into a landslide.

[3] The landslide which reportedly derailed the train is believed to have been caused by a burst irrigation pipe, or by a valve inadvertently left open.

The train was on a regional service,[4] travelling between Mals and Merano,[1] on the Vinschgau line, which reopened in 2005.

[5] Italy's ANSA news agency said one of the train's three carriages was filled with mud from the landslide, and rescuers dug frantically with shovels and pickaxes to try to reach the victims.

A reporter for Sky Italia television said smoke was rising from the wreckage and helicopters were flying overhead.