A Qatar Airways aircraft made an emergency landing at Istanbul's Ataturk airport on Thursday, reports sister publication Arabian Business. 

According to a spokeswoman for the airline, the incident is thought to have been caused by a suspected bird strike over the Marmara Sea, shortly after take off.

The Airbus 330 bound for Doha landed safely and passengers disembarked as normal, the Gulf airline said in a statement.

The spokeswoman could not confirm a report by broadcaster CNN Turk that one of the plane's engines caught fire.

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