WELLINGTON - A plane departing the Christchurch Airport in New Zealand landed safely back on Thursday afternoon, after suffering from bird strikes shortly after take-off.

The Fiji Airways FJ450 from Christchurch to Fiji's Nadi had bird strikes shortly after departure. The pilot called an emergency and circled the plane in the air to burn fuel until it reached the required landing weight. The aircraft was then landed back at Christchurch Airport two hours later on Thursday afternoon.

A Fiji Airways statement confirmed that the passengers and crew members onboard the plane were all safe.

Images from New Zealand media outlets showed that the nose of the plane was damaged and there was blood on the side. Further images from the passengers also showed blood on the plane's engine.

It is reported by local media that the plane was a Boeing 737-808.