Qantas aborts Manila flight after hydraulic leak

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A Qantas flight bound for the Philippines was forced to turn back to Sydney on Saturday after the pilot discovered a hydraulic fluid leak, just eight days after a major emergency involving another of the carrier's aircraft.

The Boeing 767-300 carrying 200 passengers from Sydney returned without incident, a Qantas spokeswoman said.

"There was no safety issue at any time," spokeswoman Melissa Thompson said.

The passengers aboard the aborted flight bound for the Philippines are being put on another plane which leaves Sydney at 1730 (3:30 a.m. EDT).

Last Friday, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne lost cabin pressure after a hole the size of a mini-van appeared in its fuselage following a blast believed to have been caused by an exploding oxygen canister.

The plane had to make an emergency descent from 29,000 feet to 10,000 feet before landing safely in Manila.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by David Fox)