A British passenger plane made an emergency landing in London Saturday after losing its front wheel, an airport spokeswoman said.

The plane, with 177 passengers aboard, landed safely at the Gatwick Airport in south London, but it was not clear whether there had been any casualties, the airport's spokeswoman said.

The plane reported that it lost the front wheel from its undercarriage shortly after taking off from the Gatwick airport for the Bulgarian capital Sofia at 1435 GMT.

The aircraft then flied back to Gatwick and made an emergency landing on the airport, the spokeswoman said.