A passenger train derailed early on Sunday in New York City when at least five cars from a Metro-North train slid off the tracks, injuring several riders, officials said.

The train derailed on a large curved section of track at 7:20 a.m. in New York about 100 yards (meters) north of Metro North's Spuyten Duyvil station, said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for Metro North, which is a subsidiary of New York State's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

At least one rail car was lying toppled near the Hudson river and police and other rescue workers were searching for survivors along the shoreline and the waterway.

Dozens of firefighters were on the scene helping pull people from the wreckage. Many people suffered injuries and some were transported to area hospitals for treatment, said New York City Fire Department spokesman Michael Parrella.

The train was a diesel with seven cars. The locomotive was on the north end pushing the cars southward.