Boeing plane engine catches fire after taking off from airport

A Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines caught fire.

The Hainan Airlines flight had only just taken off from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport in Italy and was heading to Shenzen in China when one of the engines burst in to flames.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was carrying 249 passengers and 16 crew members when it took off at 9.55am local time on Sunday.

Video footage shows the plane cruising in the sky before bright orange flames appear on one wing.

The flames quickly spread across the engine, and the plane had to make an emergency landing back at Fiumicino Airport after dumping fuel over the sea.

The Italian coastguard said the fire started when the plane hit a flying bird, MailOnline reports.

The incident is being investigated but airport officials say it caused no other delays to flights in and out of Fiumicino Airport.

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