Soyuz rocket hit by engine problem after blast-off, astronauts safe: Russian agencies

Russian agencies said the two crew members, a Russian and an American, were safe.

A Soyuz rocket taking an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station on Thursday was hit by an engine problem shortly after lift-off, Russian agencies said.

The space capsule Soyuz being launched to the International Space Station from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early on Thursday. The rocket had to make an emergency landing when an engine problem occurred after lift-off. (AP photo)

US astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin have left their Soyuz capsule and are both in good condition, NASA television reported later on Thursday.

Soyuz made an emergency landing near the city of Zhezkazgan in central Kazakhstan after its booster rockets failed in mid-air en route to the International Space Station. (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov Editing by Gareth Jones)