LONDON, June 9: Fires have twice broken out in the landing gears of two Pakistan International Airlines flights as they touched down at Manchester airport in northwest England, police said on Wednesday.

One of the incidents occurred on Tuesday morning, and the other on Wednesday, Greater Manchester police said. In both instances, fire fighters at the airport put out the flames, and no one was hurt.

"Passengers were on the planes when the fires broke out, but no one was injured," a police spokesman said. "There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the incidents."

One theory is that the fires were the result of overheating round the undercarriages. PIA operates regularly scheduled flights between Manchester and Karachi as well as Islamabad, according to the Manchester airport website. -AFP