KATHMANDU/DUBAI: A Flydubai flight from Kathmandu to Dubai experienced a bird strike during takeoff but is now heading to the United Arab Emirates, the company said on Monday.

Jagannath Niroula, spokesperson for Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement to Reuters an engine caught fire on the Flydubai Boeing 737-800 plane with 167 passengers on board, shortly after takeoff from Kathmandu and the fire had been brought under control.

"Flydubai flight number 576, (Boeing 737-800) Kathmandu to Dubai flight is normal now and proceeding to her destination Dubai as per the flight plan," the civil aviation authority said in a tweet.

The Flydubai spokesperson told Reuters the plane was scheduled to land in Dubai at 00:14 Dubai local time. (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh, Akriti Sharma, Gopal Sharma, Sudipto Ganguly and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Susan Fenton and Barbara Lewis)