An Iraqi-Kurdish passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Istanbul 30 minutes after take-off when one of its engines stopped working on Wednesday, airport officials said.

The Zagrosjet Airlines plane, carrying 96 passengers, was forced to return and land with one working engine at Atatürk Airport, Istanbul's largest airport.

The Airbus A321 was en route to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish regional government in Iraq, departed from the airport at 05.15 a.m. local time (0215GMT), said the officials on condition of anonymity.

Officials said the passengers were transferred to Erbil by another plane. The airbus was taken to a maintenance area.