The causalities occurred in the accident at 19.20 local time Thursday in the Balasore region near the Bahanaga Bazar Train Station.
Three trains were involved in the crash. Two carried passengers while one was hauling freight, according to The Hindu newspaper.
The passenger trains belonged to Coromandel Express and Yashwatpur-Howrah Ekspress, said officials.
A total of 179 people who were injured were hospitalized and more than 600 are still on the train. Search and rescue teams continue to work to free trapped passengers.
More than 75 ambulances and 500 policemen were sent to the area to support efforts, said Pradeep Jena, top bureaucrat in Odisha state.
President Draupadi Murmu said she is deeply saddened by the accident and shares the pain of families who lost loved ones.
"May the injured recover soon,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said he spoke to the railway minister and assured that “all possible assistance” was being offered to those affected by the crash.
One of trains involved in the accident is the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel express, carrying passengers from West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of the state of West Bengal, said on Twitter. The train travels through India’s east coast, between West Bengal’s capital Kolkata to the South Indian city of Chennai.