LANZHOU, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Passengers of an Azur Air flight that made an emergency landing have been transferred to hotels in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, the Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport said Friday.

The ZF2998 flight, en route from Phuket in Thailand to Barnaul in Russia, encountered an in-flight emergency and declared a distress situation on Friday afternoon.

It landed safely at the airport in Lanzhou at 4:51 p.m., with all 239 passengers and seven crew members on board safe.

According to the airport, the emergency was caused by a malfunction of the aircraft's right engine. The plane is a Boeing 757-200. ■