The main runway at Perth Airport has been left out of action after an alarming incident in which part of it was torn up by a Qantas plane.

Video circulating online shows Qantas flight QF71 appearing to damage the runway as it took off for Singapore about 12.15pm on Sunday.

The footage, shot by teenage plane spotter Mitchell, shows the Qantas A330 appearing to blow up part of the runway as it began to taxi for take-off.

As the plane gathers speed, a thick cloud of dark dust and what appears to be chunks of tarmac can be seen billowing out behind it.

“When [the pavement] did lift up, it was quite high and it created a bit of dust … probably from when it smashed on the ground,” Mitchell told the ABC on Monday.

He said he could see the damage was to a part of runway that had recently been resurfaced. Mitchell said he believed the plane had its brakes set as it began taxiing.

“When they did increase thrust, they still had their brakes set, which isn’t too rare or anything but it’s not what all aircraft do. They often do it when they are heavy,” he said.

“This particular aircraft did rotate decently late down the runway, so it did need that power and due to the aircraft having so much thrust with it at the point, that probably contributed to that particular bit of concrete lifting up into the air.”

An airport spokesperson confirmed the damage on Sunday.

“Earlier today, pavement damage on the main runway was identified in a safety inspection following a departing aircraft,” they said. “Pavement maintenance works are now under way.”

QF71, which had 271 people on board, took off without further incident.

The pilot of another flight – a Silk Way West 747 freight plane – which had been due to land soon after decided to divert to Adelaide due to the damage.

Other planes were able to use Perth’s remaining runway, which is much shorter than the main runway.

The Australian reports that an airport spokeswoman said crews worked through the night to repair the damage, and repairs were complete by early Monday.

The runway had returned to full operations, she said.

The cause of the incident is being investigated.