Manila emergency landing drama

MANILA, Philippines -- A turboprop plane carrying 49 heading to a resort island has crashed at Manila International Airport,.

But officials told CNN only minor injuries were reported.

The plane landed amid thunderstorms and careened off the runway and into a ditch, Reuters reports.

The Asian Spirit Airlines plane had departed Manila en route to Caticlan in the central Philippines, but reported problems and returned to Manila.

The plane had been headed to the nearby resort island of Boracay.

Reuters reports the emergency landing was caused by the aircraft's undercarriage failing to fully descend.

Passengers burst into applause, one of them tearfully embracing the pilot, after the four-engined turbo-prop aircraft landed.

The plane suffered heavy damage, airport officials said.

The 45 passengers, including at least 23 South Koreans and three Caucasians, were mostly unhurt except for a baby girl who had bruised her face, officials and witnesses said.

"The passengers were a bit tense and nervous," chief pilot Captain Carlos Kintanar said in a radio interview.

"When I reached the point that my fuel was only good for 30 minutes ... and we had thunderstorms all over the place. I decided to bring the plane down for an emergency landing," he said.

While the plane was approaching Manila, airport officials stopped about a dozen other international and domestic flights then circling over the city, from landing to clear the way for the disabled aircraft, Air Transportation Office chief Edilberto Yap said.

Reuters contributed to this report.