SYDNEY, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- An Etihad Airways flight leaving Melbourne Airport was forced to abort take-off on Sunday night, triggering an emergency response, local media reported.

The United Arab Emirates carrier's Flight EY461 to Abu Dhabi was traveling close to 300 km per hour down the runway shortly before 7 p.m. local time when two tires burst, forcing pilots to slam on the emergency brakes.

Emergency services were deployed to the aircraft and crew members used firefighting foam as a precaution.

"Due to damage to the aircraft's tires, we have been unable to tow it off the runway. Repairs will be done on the aircraft on location," Melbourne Airport said.

All 289 passengers on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at the time of the incident were safely evacuated and rebooked on a replacement flight. No injuries were reported.

Melbourne Airport said the blocking of the runway caused minimal disruptions to other services.

Etihad Airways said the flight crew decided to reject take-off for technical reasons. Enditem

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