At least six coaches of a goods train running on the Angul-Talcher Road route of East Coast Railways derailed in the early hours of Tuesday and fell into a river, officials said.

Six coaches of the train carrying wheat plunged into the river around 2.30 am, but the loco pilot and other staff were reported to be safe as the engine remained on the track, they said.

Heavy rain in the wake of a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal is likely to have caused the accident on a bridge over river Nandira when the goods train was on its way from Firozpur to Khurda Road, the officials said.

Talcher recorded 160 mm of rainfall on Monday followed by Angul (74 mm).

Following the incident, the ECoR has cancelled 12 trains, diverted routes of eight others and short terminated another, they added.