Image: screen grab from video at the scene     source: Reuters

At least 290 people were killed and 900 hospitalized in India after a passenger train derailed and collided with a goods train in Odisha's Balasore district on June 2, Indian media reported.

The Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, collided with a goods train that had derailed, railway officials said.

Rescue operations were underway at the site and "all possible assistance" was being given to those affected, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet on Friday.

The teams have been mobilized from Odisha's Bhubaneswar in Odisha and Kolkata in West Bengal, Federal Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said in a tweet.

The National Disaster Response Force, state government teams, and the air force had also mobilized to respond to the incident, he added.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 10 lakh (approximately, $12,000) in case of death, Rs 2 lakh (approximately $2500) for the grievously injured, and Rs 50,000 (approximately, $600) for those with minor injuries.

South Eastern Railway officials, who did not want to be named, said they feared there would be heavy casualties, without disclosing the number of deaths.

The collision is a "grave accident," H K Dwivedi, West Bengal's chief secretary told reporters. South Eastern Railway officials, who did not want to be named, said they fear heavy casualties, without disclosing the number of deaths.

General manager of South Eastern Railways, Archana Joshi, said a large number of injured were being shifted to hospitals. "Railway rescue teams from Kharagpur and other nearby stations have already reached the site. Relief and rescue are underway."