A subway train has derailed in New York City, the transit agency said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the derailment in Queens involved an express F train bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn. Authorities say it happened in a tunnel, about 1,200ft from the 65th Street station in Woodside.

Dozens of firefighters and paramedics with stretchers converged on Broadway and 60th Street. There were no immediate reports of injuries but passengers could be seen walking out of an emergency exit, with a handful being treated on stretchers.

It is not clear how many passengers were on board.

New York City's subway system is one of the largest public transportation systems in the world with an average of 5.5 million rides on weekdays.

Caisha Jean Phillipe, 21, of Hempstead, Long Island, told the Wall Street Journal the train stopped suddenly, and she thought she was about to die.

Another passenger, Gabrielle Hesop, 25, said he and others initially "thought we crashed into a train, or we thought the train was on fire".

Derailments are relatively rare in the city subway system. The last major derailment was in August 1991, when a No 4 train came off the tracks at Union Square. Five people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

The motorman, who was drunk at the time of the accident, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison.