The crash occurred at 10:40 p.m., when the Eastern Railway's high-speed, luxury Howrah Rajdhani Express train travelling at a speed of 130 km/h derailed on a 300-foot bridge over the Dhave River near the town of Rafiganj near Gaya.

Rescuers, including local military personnel, were hampered by the region's poor roads, which had become muddy due to recent rain.

Locals attempted to give what aid they could, and 125 people were pulled to safety by morning, but nothing could be done for those trapped in the carriages that had fallen into the swollen river.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but it was originally thought that rust and metal fatigue on the colonial-era bridge contributed to a shift in the structure which cracked the rails, perhaps as a result of the heavy rains in the area.

Others assert that the fish plates may have been missing either through common theft for scrap metal or through the shifting of the weakened bridge shortly before the accident.