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These dramatic photos show a gaping hole in the side of a Daallo Airlines plane after it caught fire thousands of feet in the air this morning.

The images have emerged amid claims by African locals that they saw a severely burned body fall from a passing jet several hours ago.

Flight D3159, travelling from Somalia to Djibouti, reportedly set ablaze just five minutes after taking off from Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.

It was forced to turn around and perform an emergency landing at the Raas Cabaad-based airport, where it was met by emergency crews.

Alarmingly, photos of the scene appear to show a massive hole in the fuselage on the jet's right hand side, just behind its R2 door.

(Image: Goobjoog News)

Local radio reports said the aircraft was on flames when it touched down on the tarmac.

Two passengers were initially said to have suffered minor injuries in the incident.

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However, it has since been reported that locals near Balcad town in Somalia claim to have seen a badly burned body falling from a plane at around the time Flight D3159 turned around, according to Goobjoog News.

(Image: Aviation Safety)

It is unclear whether these assertions and the Daalloo Airlines incident are linked.

It also remains unclear how the jet caught fire and how many passengers and crew members were on the aircraft at the time.

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Daallo Airlines is a Somali-owned airline.

Based at Dubai Airport Free Zone, the firm operates scheduled services in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.

Mirror Online has contacted Daalloo Airlines for comment.