The astronauts escape the faulty Soyuz rocket

A capsule carrying the crew of a Russian Soyuz rocket that malfunctioned on takeoff landed safely in Kazakhstan, Russian media reported.

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and American astronaut Nick Hague were on board, but their lives "are not in danger," Russian television said.

The rocket was en route to the International Space Station (ISS).

The US space agency Nasa said that there was a "problem with the booster".

The crew returned to Earth in "ballistic descent mode", according to NASA.