FIVE people were injured after a fire in the engine room of a passenger ferry caused evacuations in the New York Harbor on Thursday night.

The Staten Island Ferry vessel had 868 passengers and 16 crew members onboard when it stalled near the Statue of Liberty around 5pm.

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The ferry was headed from Manhattan to Staten Island at the time.

The fire happened in the engine room and has been extinguished by the boat fire suppression system.

The vessel has been anchored and passengers were removed by other boats and brought to the St George Ferry Terminal.

So far, 120 passengers have been evacuated.

All of the five injuries were described as minor by the FDNY.

Three of the victims were taken to a nearby hospital.

The temperatures in the engine room will be monitored by the FDNY for the next 24 hours to make sure it is safe to enter.