Emirates flight grounded by 'technical failure'

Dubai: An overnight Emirates airline to Colombo was forced to return to Dubai due to a "technical failure," the airline said in a statement on Thursday.

The flight "returned to Dubai Airport 20 minutes after it was airborne due to a technical failure. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers disembarked," an Emirates spokesperson said in the statement.

The parent of a passenger aboard the flight told AFP the aircraft was a Boeing 777, and that its captain told passengers the problem was engine failure.

A substitute aircraft took off with all of the passengers early on Thursday after a five hour delay, the statement said.