PHUKET: Passengers from the Air Berlin flight that underwent an emergency landing at Phuket International Airport last night were full of praise for the pilot and the way he carried out the landing.

Iris Andre Unger, from Berlin, said: ''He did a great job. We really didn't know there was a problem until the captain said about 30 minutes out of Phuket that an engine had failed.

''There was a big bang on the left side but it may have been turbulence. There was nothing unusual. The engine wasn't burning.

''Everything was under control and we landed safely.''

Her husband Matthias, an actor, added: ''All the emergency vehicles were on standby when we returned to Phuket. There were not very many signs of trouble.

''The only sign that it was an abnormal flight was that we had to collect our luggage on the runway.''

Mrs Unger added: ''When we landed, because we were flying with one engine, when we hit the ground a tyre exploded.''

She said there were Russians, Poles and Italians also on flight AB-7425, but mostly the passengers were Germans.

Air Berlin reported that the Airbus A330 was able to land safely in Phuket.

''All 249 passengers are safe and were able to disembark normally via the steps,'' said a statement from the airline.

Another passenger, Sabrina Potschle, said she had been holidaying on Koh Lanta, an island in the neighboring province of Krabi, with three friends and only returned to Phuket on Thursday to catch the flight.

''We were relieved that everything went so well,'' she said.

Passengers were ferried back from Phuket International Airport to seaside resorts on Phuket's holiday west coast.

One resort, the Phuket Island View Hotel in Karon, took 105 passengers. Many were still arriving as Phuketwan spoke with the Ungers and other passengers early today.

The passengers have been told they will be informed when there are alternative flights to get them back to Germany.