Bird-hit aircraft makes emergency landing in India

An aircraft belonging to India's private airline IndiGo was diverted to the nearest airport after being hit by a bird on Sunday, according to the country's civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), reported Xinhua.

The plane landed safely and no injuries were reported.

The Delhi-bound plane was hit by a bird minutes after taking off from the Surat airport in the western state of Gujarat. The pilot informed the Air Traffic Control and asked for an emergency landing at the nearest airport. The plane was given permission to land at the Ahmedabad airport in Gujarat under an emergency situation.

"Indigo's A320 aircraft VT-IZI operating flight 6E-646 (Surat-Delhi) diverted to Ahmedabad as a bird hits during climb at Surat ... The aircraft landed safely at Ahmedabad," media reports quoted the DGCA as saying in an official statement.

"During the ground inspection, fan blades of the (plane's) Number 2 engine were observed to be damaged," it added.