The airline said flight VN780 experienced an “engineering malfunction” prior to take-off and the flight was cancelled.

Vietnam Airlines announced that all 180 passengers and 13 crew members on board at the time of the incident are safe and accounted for, together with their luggage and personal belongings.

Peter, a passenger on the flight, was quoted by ABC news as saying “The plane aborted take-off, I know it all happened very quickly but it all of a sudden just stopped.”

He said “We were taking off and it just stopped. Engine two failed as the plane was leaving the runway.”

The Airline apologised for the inconvenience and advised customers to go home and contact the airline later to make new travel arrangements.

Melbourne Airport said the "disabled" A330 caused flight delays for about 40 minutes at around 11:00am and eight flights were diverted to Adelaide Airport.

An airport spokeswoman said the plane was not on fire and reports elsewhere of sparks and smoke coming from the plane were likely debris from the plane hitting the runway.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating.

Melbourne couple Steve Lam and Monica Tram had to cancel their honeymoon because of the incident. Lam was angry about the disruption to their travel plans and said they were “lucky to be alive”.