A plane engine caught fire shortly before take-off, forcing it to be hosed down on the runway.

The incident occurred on GoAir flight G8 802 departing Ahmedabad in western India for Bengaluru in the south of the country.

According to the Indian airline, the right engine caught fire after a “foreign object” damaged it.

It is believed to have been caused by a bird strike.

As a result, the plane aborted the take-off.

“The suspected foreign object damage resulted in a small fire which has been doused,” GoAir said in a statement.

“All passengers and crew are safe and no emergency evacuation was deemed necessary.

“The aircraft is being towed off the runway after which passengers will be deplaned.”

Footage from the incident shows the aircraft being sprayed with water in order to put out the fire.

The flight eventually took off for Bengaluru around four hours later, according to data from flight tracking site Flight Aware.

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