At least 12 people were killed and over 20 others injured when a passenger train collided with a truck at an unmanned railway crossing at Gonda in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Sunday, a senior police official said.

"The mishap happened when the speeding Gorakhpur-Ayodhya passenger train dashed into a sand-laden truck at an unmanned crossing near a village in the district, killing 12 people and injuring over 20. The truck was blown to pieces under the impact of the collision," the official said.

The injured have been admitted to a local hospital where the condition of some people were said to be serious.

"A probe has been ordered into the incident as senior railway officials have rushed to the spot," he said.