Hainan Airlines Boeing 787 turns back to Rome after engine fire

ROME (Reuters) -The right engine of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines caught fire shortly after takeoff from Rome's Fiumicino airport on Sunday, an Italian airport official and the Coast Guard said.

The plane, bound for the Chinese city of Shenzhen with 249 passengers and 16 crew members, turned back and landed safely after dumping fuel over the sea.

The aircraft was apparently struck by a bird, the Italian Coast Guard said in a statement. Bird strikes are common and can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

There were no delays to air traffic at Fiumicino, the airport official said.

(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni, Editing by Louise Heavens and Andrew Cawthorne)