New Delhi, Feb. 20: A US Air Force mid-air refueller made an emergency landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport this afternoon half-an-hour after it took off for Anderson base in England.

The KC-10 — with 10 people on board, including its crew — had come to India yesterday along with F-16s to participate in the ongoing Indo-US joint air force exercise, Cope-India-04, in Gwalior.

The aircraft, with call sign Petro-91, took off around 2.21 pm but was forced to land half-an-hour later after the crew noticed fire in one of its engines, Indian Air Force sources said.

Fire tenders, ambulances and other emergency services personnel were put on high alert after the air traffic control received the message of the refueller catching fire, airport officials said.

The fire was extinguished even as the US aircraft was hovering in the air. The plane landed safely around 2.50 pm, the officials added.