At least six people died and 12 more were injured on Tuesday evening when a New York commuter train struck at least one car near the town of White Plains, sparking a fire, ABC News reported.

Media reports said the driver of a Jeep that was hit by the train and five passengers on the train were killed. ABC quoted the Metropolitan Transit Authority as saying the collision sparked a fire that gutted the lead car of the train.

The accident happened about 6:30 p.m. (2330 GMT) and involved a train heading out of New York City on the Harlem Line. Service was suspended on a segment of the line between North White Plains and Pleasantville, the Metro-North Railroad service said.

Several news media showed images of a car on fire and smoke coming from train cars, and reported that passengers were evacuated from the train.

ABC quoted a passenger saying that some 750 people were on the train. The passengers were evacuated to the back of the train and then put on buses, according to media reports.

Roads were blocked off for many blocks around the site, and the entire area is lit up with lights from emergency and police vehicles. A Reuters witness saw emergency workers carrying someone off the train on a stretcher at around 9:45 p.m. local time.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department, which responded to the accident about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of New York City, did not immediately provide information on injuries or fatalities.

The Harlem Line train runs from Harlem, a neighbourhood in the borough of Manhattan, to Wassaic in southeast New York state. – Reuters