Plane lands safely in NZ after fire shuts down engine
A passenger plane has landed safely at a southern New Zealand airport after a fire shut down one of its engines, NZ's fire service says.
The Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 jet bound for Melbourne landed in Invercargill after the fire forced a diversion.
Fire trucks met the plane as it arrived in Invercargill about 50 minutes after takeoff from Queenstown, said Lynn Crosson, shift supervisor for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
The cause of the engine fire and the number of passengers on board the plane were not immediately known, Queenstown Airport spokesperson Catherine Nind said.
Virgin Australia said in a statement that the incident may have been caused by "a possible bird strike".
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Queenstown, with a population of 53,000, is popular tourist destination on NZ's South Island, famous for skiing, adventure tourism and alpine vistas.