Russia's Orenburg Airlines, the airliner had to turn back when one of its engines malfunctioned soon after take-off

Moscow (AFP) - Russia's prosecutors said Friday they were investigating after a Boeing passenger jet suffered an engine failure over the Dominican Republic with 371 people aboard.

Operated by Russia's Orenburg Airlines, the airliner had to turn back when one of its engines malfunctioned soon after take-off for Moscow from Punta Cana on Wednesday evening, prosecutors said.

Transport prosecutors based in the southern Russian city of Orenburg said they would evaluate the carrier's actions during the incident, in which the plane's alarm system sounded at a height 6,000 metres (19,700 feet) and the left engine had to be shut down due to a "malfunction."

Orenburg Airlines said in a statement that the pilots "managed to land the plane in a difficult situation and saved the lives of nearly four hundred people."

It said there was a loud "pop" from the left engine of the Boeing-777, followed by smoke in the cabin, after which the captain turned the engine off.

The pilot then took the plane back to Punta Cana where it made an emergency landing and the passengers and crew exited down escape slides.