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© Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Newark's Liberty International Airport was temporarily closed after an engine caught fire and passengers were evacuated. Five minor injuries were reported.

United Airlines Flight 1579 was taxiing down the runway Tuesday night when the tower notified the crew that one of their engines was on fire, according to a statement from United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin, WPIX reported.

"The crew immediately deployed the slides and evacuated the aircraft. At this time we have a report of only one minor injury. Customers are being transported back to the terminal. We are working to get our customers to San Francisco as soon as possible," Guerin said.


There were 124 passengers on the flight and seven crew members on the San Francisco-bound flight, according to CBS News.

Emergency crews from the Port Authority Police Department were able to extinguish the flames and the Boeing 757 was towed off the runway. The airport reopened by 10:45pm according to the airport's Twitter account.


The airport confirmed five people suffered minor injuries due to the incident.