Panaji: An IndiGo flight to Delhi had to return to the Goa airport while making an emergency landing after its engine developed "some technical issues" mid-air, the airline said on Monday.

Goa power minister Nilesh Cabral, who was among the passengers on the flight which took off from the coastal state on Sunday, said that the aircraft's engine caught fire following which the plane had to return to the airport.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe into the incident.

IndiGo flight 6E336, operating from Goa to Delhi on September 29 returned to Goa due to "technical issues in engine", the airline said in statement.

"As per the laid down Standard Operating Procedures, our pilot landed the aircraft in Goa for inspection. All the passengers were accommodated on other flights to Delhi," a spokesperson of the airline said.

Nilesh Cabral, however, said the flight had to return after the aircraft's engine caught fire.

He later flew to Delhi in another plane. "The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has started an investigation into the IndiGo Goa-Delhi flight incident," a senior DGCA official said.