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Plane catches fire, prompts Newark airport to close

Posted at 7:31 PM, May 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-23 22:36:04-04

Newark Airport, one of three major airports that serve New York City, is temporarily shut down Tuesday evening due to a plane that had an engine fire. 

According to Newark Airport, the airport remains closed indefinitely as emergency response teams respond to the incident. 

No serious injuries have been reported, the airport said. 

According to San Francisco's ABC affiliate, the plane was United Flight 1579, bound from Newark to San Francisco. The plane was supposed to depart the airport at 9:22 p.m.

"During taxiing of United flight 1579 from Newark to San Francisco, the tower notified the crew of what appeared to be flames from one of the engines," United Airlines said in a statement. "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."