A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 diverted Saturday morning after a major engine malfunction, but landed safely without any injuries caused.

The aircraft, operating flight 3472, was enroute from New Orleans to Orlando Aug. 27. It diverted to Pensacola, Florida, after reporting an engine malfunction.

Southwest confirmed the incident, saying the captain decided to divert because of a mechanical issue with the number one engine. Southwest said the aircraft landed without incident and there were 99 passengers and five crew onboard.

"We have notified the NTSB, and when authorized, we will be inspecting the aircraft to assess the damage.  The aircraft is out of service, and we will work to accommodate the passengers to Orlando or their final destination as soon as possible," the airline said.

The US National Transportation Safety Board confirmed in a tweet it was investigating the incident, saying the Southwest flight had experienced "an uncontained engine failure".

Dallas-based Southwest operates an all-737 fleet of 720 aircraft, some 490 of which are -700s. The -700s are powered by CFM International CFM56s.

There was no word on what caused the engine problem; a photo tweeted by the Southwest Pilots Association shows the engine to be severely damaged with its cowling missing. Another photograph shows two dents in the aircraft fuselage, one just below the window line and one in the wing root faring.