CHENNAI: A private flight bound for Kuwait from Chennai was abruptly cancelled early this morning after pilots detected a critical mechanical malfunction during take-off.

All 155 passengers and crew were safely evacuated and relocated to city hotels.

Jazeera Flight JRA 245, scheduled to depart from the city at 1:50 am with 145 passengers and 10 crew members, was about to take off when the pilot noticed an engine anomaly.

Recognising the risk, the crew immediately alerted air traffic control and halted operations.

The aircraft was swiftly towed to a maintenance bay for inspection, while passengers were escorted back to the terminal.

Engineers worked for nearly three hours to resolve the issue but failed to rectify the snag, prompting the airline to cancel the flight.

Passengers were transported via buses to nearby hotels, with arrangements made for a replacement flight expected to depart later.