Eight people were taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for smoke inhalation and burn injuries on Tuesday, after a tugboat that was berthed in West Coast caught fire.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the fire at 70 West Coast Ferry Road around 4.40pm.

The eight people on the tugboat had been evacuated before firefighters from Clementi Fire Station and West Coast Marine Fire Station arrived at the scene, said SCDF in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

SGH said yesterday that six of the victims have been discharged. Two are still in hospital.

The firefighters located the seat of the fire in the engine room. A water jet was quickly set up to put out the blaze, said SCDF. "A key consideration was not to apply too much water, which could affect the stability of the tugboat."

The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes.