KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 — Malaysia Airlines Bhd has confirmed that Flight MH199 aborted its journey today from Hyderabad, India, to Malaysia due to an engine malfunction.

The incident occurred shortly after take-off.

According to the Malaysian flag carrier, the plane was rerouted back to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad for an emergency landing.

Malaysia Airlines later confirmed that all passengers and crew landed safely back at the airport.

"Affected passengers will be reallocated to other flights for their continued journey. The aircraft is currently on the ground for further inspection,” it said in a statement.

The Malaysia Airlines flight departed from Hyderabad 15 minutes behind schedule at 12.30am local time, before landing back at the airport around 20 minutes later, according to information from flight tracking website FlightAware.com.

Witness reports indicate that sparks were seen coming from one of two the engines on the Boeing 738 aircraft.

According to a report in the Times of India, there were 138 passengers aboard MH199.