Dubai international airport will resume flights at 1830 local (1430 GMT), the government's media office said, after traffic was suspended for several hours following the emergency landing of an Emirates Airline plane that subsequently caught fire.

Photographs and videos posted on social media showed the plane, which had flown in from India, lying crumpled on its belly on the tarmac with black smoke pouring from its upper section.

A spokesperson for operator Dubai Airports said all 282 passengers and 18 crew aboard flight EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram had been evacuated and emergency services were managing the situation.

Most of the passengers were Indians, followed by Britons and UAE citizens. Others on board came from the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Ireland, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Planemaker Boeing said in a statement it was monitoring the situation in Dubai and it would be working with Emirates to gather more information. - Reuters