Terrified passengers watched from the windows as a plane's engine burst into flames while it was taking off on Saturday 4 February.

The Boeing 767 operated by Russian carrier Azur Air had 309 passengers and 12 crew onboard as it was speeding down the runway at Phuket International Airport in southern Thailand, when two loud bangs were heard.

Smoke and flames erupted from the right engine, forcing the pilot to abort the takeoff.

Passengers -- the majority of them tourists returning to Russia -- were safely evacuated from the damaged plane following the incident at 4:30pm local time on the Moscow-bound plane.

Officials said the jet was removed from the runway but 47 later flights arriving and departing from the busy airport were cancelled or diverted.

Planes that were circling overhead waiting to land were re-routed to neighbouring airports.

The Phuket Information Centre (PIC) said aviation investigators were working with the airline to probe the cause of the incident.

Witnesses told airport staff that the fire started in the engine and was followed by the "sound of two explosions".

Air traffic control said they spotted the fire and ordered the pilot to abort takeoff.

However, as the turbofan engine had already reached a speed ready for takeoff, the pilot had to slam the brakes causing smoke to rise from the wheels, officials said.

The plane was unable to taxi away and remained on the runway until it was later towed by a tractor.

Terrified passengers watched form the windows as a plane's engine burst into flames while it was taking off.

The Boeing 767 operated by Russian carrier Azur Air had 309 passengers and 12 crew onboard when it was speeding down the runway at the Phuket International Airport in southern Thailand, when 'two explosions' were heard on Saturday afternoon.

Smoke and flames erupted from the right engine forcing the pilot to abort the takeoff. Passengers - the majority of them tourists returning to their motherland - were safely evacuated from the damaged plane following the incident at 4:30pm on flight to Moscow.

Officials said the jet was removed from the runway but 47 later flights arriving and departing from the busy airport were cancelled or diverted. Planes that were circling overhead waiting to land were re-routed to neighboring airports.

The Phuket Information Centre (PIC) said aviation investigators were working with the airline to probe the cause of the incident.

Witnesses told airport staff the fire started in the engine and was followed by the 'sound of two explosions'.

Air traffic control said they spotted the fire and ordered the pilot to abort takeoff. However, as the turbofan engine had already reached a speed ready for takeoff, the pilot had to slam the brakes causing smoke to rise from the wheels, officials said.

The plane was unable to taxi to tarmac and remained on the runway until it was later towed by a tractor.