The plane has been left with its tail pointing upwards with the Dreamliner having suffered significant damage to its forward fuselage.

An incident like this is believed to be very unusual especially with a new plane.

Frankfurt Airport and police have said that until the aircraft is removed from the gate, there will be disruptions to air traffic.

Other aircraft will be held in their parking manoeuvres while the Lufthansa plane is investigated and taken away.

The gate cannot be used, reportedly said police spokesperson.

German airline Lufthansa says several employees were injured after the nose gear of a Boeing aircraft unexpectedly retracted, before passengers were set to board a planned flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles.

The carrier said the incident involving the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner occurred shortly after noon Thursday while it was parked at the gate, with only crew members and ground staff on board.

“Several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical attention,” Lufthansa said in a statement. The company said it and relevant authorities were investigating the circumstances of the incident.

A clip shows the moment the Dreamliner suddenly collapses to the ground with a worker stepping back.

The plane was is one year old and operated by Lufthansa with an investigation underway into what happened.

Flight LH450 from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, which was due to take off at 13.50pm CEST (12.50pm BST) today, has been cancelled following the incident.

The Dreamliner, registration D-ABPQ, sustained significant damage after the nose landing gear collapsed while it was at the gate, Frankfurter Rundschau reports.

Lufthansa confirmed an "incident" occurred at Frankfurt Airport, the largest airport in Germany, at around 12.45pm CEST (11.45am BST).

An image shows the nose of the plane on the runway(Image: @flightradar24/x)

The nose landing gear of a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner collapsed while it was parked at a gate at Frankfurt Airport.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa told the dpa news agency: "The aircraft's nose landing gear unexpectedly folded in while parked." The aircraft was operating as flight LH450 and was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles.

"At the time of the incident, crew and ground staff were on board. Passengers had not yet boarded. Several employees were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment," the spokesperson added.