Cape Town - Eyewitnesses say an engine has fallen off a plane that has taken off from Cape Town International airport.
ACSA Spokesperson Deidre Hendricks said the runway was closed for about ten minutes at 16:00 "due to debris on the runway from a departing aircraft".
Hendricks confirmed the plane affected was a Nationwide airlines fligh on route to Johannesburg. It was due to land at 17:30.
ACSA says the pilot performed an emergency landing at Cape Town International airport and there have been no reports of any injuries.
Earlier, the airport runway had been closed to clear debris - and what is believed to be an engine from the plane - from the runway.
It is expected that the incident will cause delays at OR Tambo Airport as well.
According to a caller on Capetalk Radio who was in a plane that landed shortly after the affected plane took off, an engine could be seen lying on the runway at Cape Town International.
"They took off and left the engine behind," he said. "It was an engine lying on the ground."
Another eyewitness has reported seeing a Nationwide plane flying overhead with smoke coming out of the right side of the plane.
Traffic is also backing up in the Cape Town International airport area due to the incident. - News24 and Sapa.
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