BALASORE: Four coaches of the Coromandel Express derailed in Odisha's Balasore district on Friday evening after a head-on collision with a goods train, officials said.

The accident happened around 7.20 pm near Bahanaga Bazar station when the train was on the way to Chennai Central station from the Shalimar station near Kolkata, they said.

Accident relief trains have been dispatched to the spot, a South Eastern Railway official said.

It was not immediately known how many people were injured in the accident.

The state government directed the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action (ODRAF) Force to assist in rescue operations.